Sometimes Pain And Heartache Bring Love and Joy
by BL-is-love
Summary: He was driving fast, running away from Tree Hill and the heartache he felt after he found out Peyt cheated on him. Who will he run to? And what terrible surprise will he be faced with once he arrives there? A major BL
1. Chapter 1

**Disclamer: I don't own One Tree Hill, any of the characters or anything related to the show. **

**So, the story begins 5 years in the future. It doesn't have a certain POV, and it's mainly a BL story. It won't be too long, but I hope you'll like it. Please, leave a review when you read this, it would mean a lot to me. Also, if you like the story, check out the other one I've been writing for a while now, its called Crawling Back to You, and it's also about BL. **

**Well, italics are flashbacks, that's all you need to know for now. Without any further addo, here goes the story.**

He was driving fast. He wanted to go anywhere, just away from Tree Hill, away from the heartache he feels.

_Lucas: You know I love you, Peyton._

_Peyton: I love you, too, Luke_

He closed his eyes for a second while remembering this. "Was it all a big lie all along?" he couldn't get this idea out of his head

_He was on a trip to a town nearby to see a friend and wasn't supposed to come back for the next couple of days. But, since it was a surprise trip, whe he got there he found out that she went to LA to visit he__r brother. He didn't have any other option but to go back to Tree Hill. The first thing he did when he got there was go visit Peyton._

"_Hey, babe…" he said while walking into her room_

_What a view he got. Peyton was in a bad with someone else. Not just someone else, but Jake. _

"_Luke wait!" was all she managed to say before he stormed out of her house_

_She went after him and managed to catch him 500m away_

"_Luke, wait, let me explain" she pleaded_

"_Explain what, Peyton?" he said while stopping and turning around to face her_

"_That you're in love with Jake? That you've been cheeting on me for God knows how long…" he yelled_

"_It's not like that! The truth is I do love Jake. And I'm sorry for not telling you earlier but…" she tried to explain her actions but just couldn't find the words. She knew she was wrong_

"_You know what, Peyton? Go to hell and forget that I even exist" he said and walked away_

The scene of Peyton and Jake in bed together was still in his head. He knew it would be hard to get rid of it.

Peyton and Lucas went through so much together. Hell, they were together for 5 years, and he really loved her, he couldn't believe she was able to do this to him, after all the years.

_He went outside and din't know where to go to. His mom wasn't really the person he wanted to talk to about this, so he just went to see Nate and Haley._

_He knocked on the door and Nathan opened them_

"_What's wrong man?" he said as soon as he saw Lucas' face_

"_Peyton…we broke up" was all he managed to say_

"_What? Why?" Nathan asked him while they were walking in the house_

"_She…cheated on me for a while with Jake. I just cought them in bed together" Lucas said, all broken and sad. He felt like crying but he didn't have the power to. _

"_I'm so sorry to hear this, man" Nathan replied and then Haley joined them_

"_Hey, Luke, what happened?" Haley said all worried about her friend_

"_I broke up with Peyton. She cheated on me with Jake" he repeated the story again, it was breaking him down more and more_

"_I'm so sorry Luke" Haley said and hugged him_

"_I just want to get away from here, from Tree Hill" he continued_

"_Where do you wanna go?" Nate asked_

He was already entering New York when his cell-phone rang. It was Haley

"Hey, Luke, where are you?" she asked

"Umm…I just entered New York, why?" he asked

"I just wanted to check on you, nothing else. Ok, so call me when you get there, ok?"

"OK, Hales, bye" he said and hung up with a smile. The only person that could make him smile in moments like this one was Haley. He looked at the ring that was on the passengers seat next to him. His mind went back to Tree Hill, back to Peyton, making his heart break even more, if it was even possible

"_Hey, Nate, guess what?" he told his brother as soon as he walked over to him in the Tree Hill high, the place where Nate worked at as the coach of the Ravens_

"_What's up now, Luke?" Nate replied_

"_I'm gonna ask Peyton to marry me" he said_

"_That's great man! Did you get the ring?" Nathan asked_

"_Yea, here it is" he said and took a beautiful ring out_

"_It's beautiful" Nathan replied "So, when are you gonna do it?" _

"_When I get back, I don't wanna do it now and then go away for a few days" _

"_That's the right thing to do, man" Nathan replied_

He looked at the ring, the ring that made his pain deeper. He opened the window of his car, took the ring, looked at it one last time and threw it out of the window. He felt like throwing a part of himself out, but the part that hurted. He finally let a tear drop down his face. It was the first tear since he broke up with Peyton, and the last one, he promised that to himself.

He finally got to the destination that leaded him all the way to New York. He stood on the doorstep for a few seconds, thinking should he even do that, and does he have the right to just appear on her doorstep. It's been 5 years since he last saw her, but that's only because that was how she wanted it.

_It was the summer after they gr__aduated from high school. She was with Chase and he was with Peyton, but they decided to be friends, after all they were an important part of each other's lives, each others first love. He loved having her around, talking to her, she would always make him laugh even when she's stealing fries from his plate and he's just rolling his eyes. Then one day she came over and wanted to talk to him._

"_Luke I gotta tell you something" she started_

"_What's going on, Brooke?" after seeing her face he knew it was serious_

"_I'm moving away, Luke. I'm going to New York, go to college and have fun. I won't be looking back anymore, Tree Hill is a small place and I don't wanna be here, I need a big city, many people, lots of fun. So…I guess this is goodbye" she said_

_He looked at her, it was sad losing her, he loved her so much_

"_Goodbye? No way, we're gonna see each other, and visit, you can come here, Peyton and I will come visit you…" he tried to forget the fact she was leaving, he tried to think about the days when they'll see each other_

"_No, Luke. I'm not coming back, and I just want to erase everything I had here from now on" she said_

"_Why, Brooke?" he asked_

"_Cause it's for the best" she replied_

"_So, this really is a goodbye?" he asked with sadness in his eyes_

"_Yea" she replied_

_He pulled her into a tight hug_

"_You can always count on me, Brooke. You'll always be my friend, no matter what happenes, you can always call me" he said and tears were forming in his eyes, but he managed to stop them. She let one tear roll down her cheek_

"_I gotta go" was all she said before leaving his room._

_He later found out she had the same convo with everyone, and nobody heard from her ever since._

She never replied his e-mails, she never replied his phone calls, and not just his but also Peyton's, Nate's, Rachel's…the only person she wrote to once was Haley, a couple of years ago, just to tell her not to call or e-mail her or anything. She said she wanted to get away from Tree Hill and she wanted everyone to leave her alone. Hales tried calling her after that, but she didn't answer.

"_Where do you wanna go, Luke" Nate repeated his question_

"_I wanna go and see a friend I haven't seen in years" he replied_

_The first person he thought of after Nate's question was Brooke. And he wanted to see her, it's been a long 5 years since he last did that._

"_But, you know Brooke told us not to call or anything" Haley said "Don't do it Luke."_

"_She's my friend, and I haven't seen her in ages. And right now, I need someone who's funny and cheery like Brooke. Do you know where I can find her, Hales?" he asked with a puppy face Haley couldn't resist to_

"_Ahhh, alright. I have her address here." Haley said, and went to the bedroom. She came back with a letter_

"_Here's the address she sent me her last letter from. It's been 2 years since then but I don't think she moved" Haley said_

"_Why didn't you try to talk to her, or visit her?" Luke asked_

"_Cause this is how she wanted things to be. And, I'm just doing as I'm told" Haley continued_

"_Thanks for the address Hales. I'll call you when I get there" Luke said and gave Haley a hug and a kiss on the cheek_

"_Wait, you're leaving now?" she asked_

"_Yea." he replied, gave Nathan a manly hug and left_

_He went to his place, took his stuff and threw them in a bag and started the car._

So, they just left her alone, as she requested. But, now, when he needed to get away from everything, he knew she was the only person that would understand him. And that's because of what he made her go through. He now realised how much pain he caused her with his actions. He just wanted to see her, talk to her, and get it all out. He needed a friend. And she was the only one he had away from Tree Hill. He finally dared to ring the doorbell. He waited for an answer for about a minute. Then, she finally opened the door.

She lost a lot of weight, he noticed that, she was pale and looked very tired. He knew something was wrong as soon as she started caughing hard.

"Brooke, are you ok?" he asked and tried to get closer to her, but she stepped backwards

When she finally stopped coughing she replied

"I'm fine. What…what are you doing here?" she was really confused to see him, but not more than he was confused to see her the way she was

"I…I needed a road trip, and I needed a friend, so…here I am" he replied honestly

"How did you find me?" she asked

"You wrote your address on Haley's letter and she gave it to me. Brooke, I know you said you don't wanna see anyone from Tree Hill again, but I'm already here now, so…would you take me in for a few days?" he asked

"I'm sorry, Luke." was all she said before getting inside of her house, she wanted to close the doors but didn't manage to. She fainted before that.

When he saw her falling down to the floor, he dropped his bag and took her in his arms. He didn't know if she lived with someone, and he didn't know where he bedroom is, but he just carried her in and put here down nicely on her sofa in the living room. He took some water from the kitchen and sprinkled it on her face. She soon woke up

"What am I…" she said

"You fainted, Brooke. I carried you in." he said

"Thank you, Luke" she tried to smile to him but just couldn't. She was too weak

"Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked

"No, I just wanna get some sleep." she replied

"Brooke, why don't you tell me what's going on with you" he asked, almost pleaded. He knew something was really wrong, but she wasn't letting him know it. He decided he's not leaving now, not until he finds out what's going on

"Let me get some sleep Luke." was all she said

"I'm not leaving, Brooke. Not until you tell me what's wrong." he replied, still convinced there's something

"Later, Luke." was all she said before turning around and trying to get some sleep.

Luke decided to look around, and check out her place. It was a small house, she was obviously living alone, and her place wasn't really neat. The place really needed some cleaning up, not too much, but still some. There were dishes in the sink, and Luke decided to take care of that. He washed the dishes and then went to the living room. Many books were there, on the arm chairs, on the shelves…he was surprised to see so many books in Brooke's house.

"Of mice and men" was the first one he came across with. He smiled when he saw it, he knew how hard it was to get Brooke into those kinda books.

"The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscra Wilde. "Brooke really changed some stuff about herself" he thought

But then, he got the next book out "How to deal with cancer?" was the tittle. Lucas was surprised. And then the front door opened and someone came in. He knew he was gonna get in trouble if Brooke doesn't wake up, but he didn't want to wake her up.

And then an older lady came in the living room

"Who are you?" she asked Lucas who was now standing next to Brooke's bed

"An old friend" he replied

"I would say you're a burgaler" the woman said. "I'm calling the cops if you make 1 single move" she continued "Don't move until I tell you to"

"It's ok, I won't move, just wake Brooke up and you'll see" Lucas tried to defend himself

"You know her name?" the woman asked surprised

"Yes, I know her name, I know her, I'm a friend" he replied

"What's your name, young man?" the woman still had her doubts on who he is

"Lucas. Lucas Scott." he said

"Oh…her ex-boyfriend" the woman concluded

"You know about me?" he was a bit surprised now

"Yea, about you, about some Haley James Scott, and her husband Nathan Scott, than Peyton Sawyer, and Rachel Gatina, and…Mouth McFadden." the woman concluded

"Brooke talks about you guys all the time"

"Then…why didn't she wanna see anyone of us in all these years?"

"It's because…" the woman was confused now, Brooke told her not to tell a single person what's going on with her, but luckily for her, Brooke woke up now and yawned

"Good morning, sweety" the woman said

"Oh, hi, Mary" Brooke replied. She hoped Luke was gone by now, but then she looked around and saw his face

"Hey, pretty girl. How are you" he asked with a light smile

"You're still here?" she asked

"Yea, I washed your dishes, and got all these books you had laying around the living room back on the shelves" he continued

"Thanks Luke" she replied

"So, do you need anything?" Mary asked Brooke

"No, Mary, it's ok. I'm fine." Brooke replied

"Ok, then, but call me if you need anything" Mary said and then turned to Lucas "Sorry about the attack" she said and smiled

Luke laughed "No problem. It was nice meeting you" he said. She nodded her head and left the house

"So, Brooke" he said while taking a seat in an arm chair "Are we gonna talk now?"

Brooke knew it had to come to this since the moment she saw him standing in front of her front door.

"Lucas…this isn't easy for me" she said

"Brooke, no matter what it is, I'm here now. I'm gonna be here for you whatever it is." he said

She took a sit on the sofa, and he moved next to her. He took her hand trying to reassure her to go on

"Lucas…I…erm…I have cancer" she finally said it

Lucas was confused now, he felt like an asshole for not calling or anything in all these years.

"What?" was all he managed to say

"You heard me." she said and started crying. He wrapped his arms around her and she stuck her head on his chest.

A tear rolled down his face and into her hair. They stayed like this for a few minutes

"Listen Brooke…" he tried to speak "I…I'm not gonna leave you now" he continued

"You need someone to help you around the house, to help you get through this. We'll get through this together" he said, he didn't know what to do

"Luke, Mary is here, and it's fine really" she tried to make him leave

"Mary is old, and she can't carry you when you faint, and she can't always be here. That's why I'm moving in" he wasn't gonna let her throw him out, he needs to be there for her

"Luke, I managed to do it on my own in 5 years, and I don't think…" she couldn't even finish the sentence

"Now it's gonna be easier, cuz I'm gonna be here"

"But, what about Peyton?" she asked. She didn't even know if they were still together, but she asked the question still

"We…we broke up" now his wound was open

From the sound of his voice she realised it wasn't long ago. And she realised he was suffering

"I'm so sorry to hear that Luke. What happened?" she asked, she was worried about him

"She…I…she cheated on me with Jake for a while" he finally said it

"I'm so sorry, Luke" she said and hugged him. He hugged her back

"So, we gonna fight this together?" he asked now, half smiling

"What? My pain and your heatache?" she asked

"Yea" he replied

"OK, Luke, but you should know one thing- it's not gonna be easy" she said

"I'm here. I'm gonna help you. You just need to let me" he said

"Luke, belive me when I tell you it's not easy" she said again

"I collapse, a lot. I cough badly, sometimes even blood. I have chemotherapy everyday" she continued

"Brooke…it's ok. I can take it." then he remembered the sentence he heard a while ago "It's ok. I'm here for you"

She smiled "Thank you, Lucas."

Then his phone rang. It was Haley.

"Hey Hales" he said while answering the phone.

Brooke took a piace of paper and wrote down something and showed it to Lucas "Don't tell her anything. Please" was written

"Brooke's fine. She's just making me breakfast now" he said knowing how weak Brooke is, and Haley would realise something was wrong

"Yea, Hales I'll be staying with her for a while" he said

"No, I don't know for how long" he continued

"OK, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye" he said and hung up

"Thanks, Lucas. For not telling her and for being here" she said and smiled

"It's cool. She said hello and told me to get you back to Tree Hill" he said

"No way. I'll talk to her if I can when you call her tomorrow." she said

"Do you want me to make some breakfast?" he asked

"That'd be nice." she replied

"Just…please, use many vegetables" she said

He nodded his head and entered the kitchen. He knew it won't be an easy thing, but she needed him and he was gonna be there. He felt bad for not being there earlier. He felt bed that they all let her go just like that. Nobody knew what was going on, but still, they could've called. They should've known soemthing was wrong. This wasn't the way Brooke was acting normally. But, he was there now, and he was ready to help her through this, no matter how hard it may be.


	2. I'm There For You Cuz You're There 4 Me

**Thanks for your reviews. This story won't be too long, and I guess it won't even have other people envolved too much. It's a major BL for now, everyone else will appear but briefly. Anyways, please read and review, cuz if I don't get many reviews I'm just gonna think it sucks and stop writing it. Also, check out my other story, Crawling Back To You, it's also about BL, so check it out and review it too.**

**Also, all the suggestions and ideas you may have you can send them in a message or place them in your review, and I may use some of them. Ok, I'll stop rambling now, here you go with the chapter!**

They were finishing their breakfast.

"Thanks Luke. This was delicious" she started

"Well, get used to it, cuz that's what you're gonna get every day from now on" he said with a smile

"Brooke…do you wanna talk about…you know" he said a bit scared of her reaction so he mumbled most of it

"Luke...there's no need to be like that about this. I have CANCER. I've learnt to live with it" she said "And, what do you wanna know?" she asked, ready to hear the same stuff everyone asks

"I just wanna know are you gonna get throught this, I mean, are you…" he couldn't finish the sentence

"If I'm gonna die?" she asked instead of him. He nodded his head slowly, not looking up at her

"I don't know, Lucas. Neither do doctors" she replied

"What do you mean?" he answered now looking her streight in the eyes

"I have cancer…for 5 years now. And I have chemoterapy and take some meds, and I had 2 operations for now, but they still don't know how long will I live" she replied, tears forming in her eyes

Lucas saw that and whiped them away with his thumb

"Everything's gonna be ok. You have to believe" he replied, but he was also scared he might lose her

"That's what doctors say too.That I have to believe, and fight for my life" she replied rolling her eyes a bit, she was sick of that sentence, everyone kept repeating it.

"I feel there's a but there" he replied knowing there was something more

"But I'm not sure if I wanna fight. I'm sick of going to the hospital, of chemoterapy, of meds, doctors, nurses…everything" she continued the story

"Brooke, don't say that. You have to fight, your life is more important than anything else" he said and placed his hand on her hand that was on the table "You have to, Brooke" he repeated

She nodded her head and looked up at him

"I will. Now, let's change the subject. What do you wanna do?" she asked him and got up to clean up the table

"Brooke, I'll do it" he said and jumped off his chair and got some stuff that were on the table

"Lucas, don't treat me like a kid, or like someone who's seriously ill. I can take care of this kinda stuff, you make me feel incapable of doing anything, and when a person has cancer that's the worst way you can possibly make her feel" she replied a bit rambling and continued carring the stuff to the kitchen with Lucas following her with the rest of the dishes

"Sorry, Brooke. I guess I'm just scared" he replied honestly

"It's ok, Luke. A lot of people do that, that's probably just because they're worried about me, but there's no need to be." she replied

"Brooke…I'm not gonna ask anything more about cancer, because I don't wanna pressure you to talk about something you don't wanna talk about, but anytime you wanna talk, remember I'm here for you to listen. OK?" he said and she nodded her head "Thanks" she said again

"No need to thank me. I've been kicking myself for not calling or anything in all these years" he replied

"Luke, you did call, but I didn't reply and answer any of the calls from anyone

"Brooke, since when do you have cancer?" he asked her

"Since Senior year. I found out a few days before the Naley wedding" she replied "And now, no more talk about my cancer. Your turn now." she replied and walked out of the kitchen

"My turn for what?" he said a bit confused

"We talked about my pain. It's time for your heartache" she replied and motioned him to take a seat next to her on the sofa

He half smiled but did as he was told and took a seat next to her

"So, what do you wanna know?" he asked her

"Well, whatever you're ready to say" she said

"Well, there's not so much to talk about. She broke my heart, and I guess I deserved that, since I broke yours twice. I just…I had no clue it hurts this much" he said with a sad look on his face

She saw the pain in his eyes. The same pain she felt 5 years ago when she left him because she knew his heart belongs to her best friend, and she knew she's sick.

"Lucas, just…believe me, time takes it all away" she said and rubbed his back

"I hope it does" he replied, looking down to the floor. Then his cell rang. It was Peyton

"Why don't you answer?" Brooke asked

"Because it would hurt too much." he said and rejected the call. No more than 2 minutes later a text message came

"Luke, please, call me. We need to talk. I went to your house and you ain't there. Call me, we need to meet and talk. Please, Luke."

"What are you gonna do?" Brooke asked him after reading the message

"Ignore her" he replied "It still hurts to talk to her, and I don't wanna talk to her, she's done enough." he said a bit mad

Brooke started coughing real hard and ran to the batheroom. Lucas followed her. She ran inside and spit out some blood.

"It's ok. It happens a lot" was all she said before washing her mouth with some water

"You sure you're ok?" Luke asked

"Sure I'm fine. Listen, I have chemoterapy soon, so I should probably get ready now"

"Do you need some help?" he offered

"Lucas, I'm fine, stop running around me like I'm an idiot. Cuz I'm not" she replied

"Sorry, Brooke. But, seriously, do you need some help?" he repeated his question

"I'm gonna go change and you can go to the doctor's office with me" she replied with a small smile

"Anything for you" he replied "Go get ready and I'll clean up" Lucas added

She nodded her head and smiled, and went to the bedroom. He got up and went to the kitchen to do the dishes

"I see you're working hard" he heard a voice behind him say. It was Mary. He laughed

"I was just doing the dishes before taking Brooke to the doctor" he replied

"Oh, so you're going with her? There's no need for me to come?" she asked

"No, but if you want to go it's ok"

"I think I'll stay home. You two have a lot of things to talk about. I'll see you soon, and call if you need anything" Mary said and waved

"I will" he replied "And thank you" he added and then just heard how she closed the doors. 15 seconds later Brooke appeared

"Who was that?" she asked

"Mary, she thought she has to take you to the chemoterapy, but I told her it's cool, and that now when I'm here, I'm gonna do it" he replied and smiled

"Well, I'm ready to go" she replied

"Ok, let me get my car keys and we can go" he said and walked out of the kitchen to the living room and took the keys

"Let's go" he said and they left

He was waiting for her to finish her chemo, it's been hours since he was sitting in the waiting room and reading some papers.His cell phone rang again. It was Peyton. He rejected the call- again. He wasn't ready to face her yet. And then another text message came.

"Answer. Please"

He didn't know what to do and his phone started ringing again. He hesitated for a few seconds, but answered.

"What do you want Peyton?" he asked her with an angry tone

"I wanna talk to you, and see you and explain…" she tried to speak, her voice was trembling, and he noticed she's crying

"You can't see me cuz I have more important things to do, and I don't know when I'll be back. And you wanna talk? OK, spill it" he said, the anger in his voice even higher

"Lucas, please, don't be like that…" she wiped the tears away

"I…I never meant to hurt you" she said

"Well, somebody told me once one very smart thing. She told me that it didn't matter cuz in the end it all hurts just the same." he replied remembering the words Brooke told him when she found out he cheated on her with Peyton

"Please, Luke, let me explain" she begged

"There's nothing to explain. You and me…we're done." he said and hung up. He tilted his head and managed to hold back the tears.

_Lucas: It's you Peyton. The one I want next to me when my dreams come true. It's you._

Every memory deepend his pain. Then Brooke came out and he almost jumped from his seat to hold her

"Lucas, will you stop that?" she said and a small smile appeared on her lips

"Sorry…" he said but still put his arm around her

"Let's go" she said and put her arm around him. It felt comfortable, and she wasn't sure how strong she was after the chemoterapy. They were about to leave when the doctor appeared

"Excuse me, Miss Davis" he said and they both turned around

"What's up, doctor?" she asked

"I managed to get your new state report really quick. And, I wanted to inform you right away you're getting better." he said with a smile

Both Brooke and Lucas smiled and hugged.

"But, that doesn't mean you can stop with the terapy because you can't. I'll see you tomorrow" he said

"Thank you, doctor. And see ya" she said and waved at him and Brooke and Lucas left the hospital

"I'm so proud of you" he said as soon as they walked out

"Thanks, Luke. Wanna go for a short walk, and maybe get something to eat? You must be hungry, you waited for me for 3hours!" she says

"OK, that'd be nice. Let's go home first and than we'll go out" he replied and opened the door for her

"Thank you, Lucas" she said and got in

"Anything for you" he replied with a smile

They went home and then went out for a walk

"So, what happened in Tree Hill in the last 5 years" she asked

"Not much. It's Tree Hill, what could happen?" he replied

"Let's see…kidnapped babies, love triangles, a marriage and a baby in high school, missing parents…" she said and laughed and e joined it

"Brooke…I hurt you a lot, didn't I?" he said and his face became serious

She looked into his eyes "Where's that coming from?" she asked

"Now I know what it's like to have your heart broken, I broke yours when you were already sick. Don't think I'm here just because I feel guilty, Brooke, because it's not like that. I'm here bacause I love you and I'd hate to see something bad happenes to you. And I'm gonna be here till you get through this." he said and hugged her

"Thank you, Luke. I really appreciate this" she said and rubbed his back and he held the back of her head.

"We're gonna fight this together" he continued

They went back home soon, cuz Brooke was tired. The day was pretty normal, Brooke felt good, Mary payed them a visit, and nothing unusual happened. He was glad to see Brooke feel better.

"Broody, I'm gonna go to bed" she said while he was watching the TV

"You…I have only one bedroom. Wanna sleep there or…" she asked

"No, sofa's fine for me" he replied "Sweet dreams, Cheery" he said and she smiled

"It's been a while since someone called me that"

"That's why I'm here" he said

"Good night" she said and went to her bedroom.

"She has to get better" he thought to himself. The fact that he hasn't seen her so long hasn't changed anything. He still cared about her, and of course, he wanted her cancer to go away. He wanted the old, cheery Brooke back, the one that made him laugh, the one that was so selfless, the one that listened to everyone's problems, the one that helped when ever she could. He felt bad for not being there for her this last 5 years, but at the same time, he was glad he was there now. He promised himself he'll find a way to talk to the doctor about her condition, he was ready to do anything to help her through this. He was scared. Afraid of the idea of…Brooke's death. "Will it come to that?" just a thought that he couldn't get out of his mind.

**So, did you like it? Or hate it? Let me know what you think, I'm beginning to feel like it's not good at all, and I'm not even sure if I should go on with this story. Reviews are very much appreciated**


	3. Cry Your Heart Out

**Thank you so much for your reviews, guys! But, keep them coming, I love reading them and**** I can't wait to hear what you think of this one. It's short, and pleaseee be honest about it and tell me even what u didn't like. Well, enough rambling, here ya go!**

"_Doctor, what's going on?" she asked, really worried after seeing the look on his face_

"_Miss Davis…there's something really serious going on with you" the doctor started. He knew how hard some things are to say, especially to a young person like Brooke. "Brooke, where are your parents?" he asked_

_She got confused "Away. Why?" she was even more confused, she couldn't stop wondering why can't he just tell her what's going on_

"_I just thought they should be here with you. You need them now" he continued_

"_Listen, doctor, right now my only concern is what's going on with me" she continued_

"_So, if you could please tell me that now" she finished_

_The doctor took a dep breath in, and finally started "You see, Brooke…this isn't easy at all…but…you have breast cancer" he finally finished_

_Brooke stood there for what seemed like eternity to herself, but wasn't longer than a couple of seconds "W..w-what?" she mumbled, still paralised a bit_

"_Brooke, if it helps, it's in it's early fase, there's so much we can do for you. You'll have to put a lot of efford in it, you have to fight, but this battle isn't lost yet." doctor tried to help_

"_I..I have cancer?" Brooke found it hard to believe. She jus wanted this to be a dream, she wanted…no, she __**needed**__ to wake up. "Wow…I can't believe this is happening to me" she continued "What…what shell I do now, doctor" she asked_

"_First, you need to calm down. We need to examine you more. This is gonna be a long fight. You're gonna need all the support you can get from people around you." the doctor continued_

"_For now I prefer not to tell anyone. And about the tests…when should we do it?" she asked_

"_Tomorrow would be a good time" the doctor replied_

"_OK. Then I'll see you tomorrow after school" she replied, stood up and shoke hands with the doctor and left his office_

"Tomorrow" she thought to herself as she remembered the day she found out about her breast cancer. It was 1 day before the school shooting. She didn't wanna tell anyone, she was too scared of their reaction, she didn't want anyone to feel sorry for her. So, she just decided not to do anything about it for the rest of the school year. She just made things worst. The only thing she wanted was to make eveyone happy before she leaves Tree Hill. Even thought it hurt her a lot, she gave up on Lucas, hoping he'll find happiness with Peyton.

"_Why now when there's so much going on with me?"_

That was what was wrong. "I can't believe how selfless she is" he thought to himself. Now when he knew when everything started, he felt so bad that he kissed Peyton, that he let her go, and dated Peyton all these years. He broke Brooke's heart back then, and she was going through such a rough time. She needed him back then, she needed even Peyton, and Haley…and nobody knew something was going on with her. He couldn't believe she just left and decided to fight it all alone, that she just told him to go and be with Peyton, and left, and go through so many things alone. And that's when it all hit him. His break up with Peyton, finding Brooke like this…the sorrow was strong, and a tear rolled down his face, followed by a few more. He needed to get it out, just let the pain outside his soul.

_Brooke: I want you to rescue me._

_Lucas: From what?_

_Brooke: From all of it._

Now he's gonna get his chance to do what he promised years ago. She needed his to rescue her, to be there for her, and he didn't realise what was going on. He felt stupid, and bad, and useless, he felt selfish cause he was happy and someone he cares about was going through so much. The pain grow fonder. No more tears, but a huge emptiness that was running through his body. The feeling of guilt and disappointment in himself. He couldn't fight it.

_Lucas: OK, than, I will but only if you promise to rescue me back._

_Brooke: I promise._

They never kept their promises. She realised it now. She didn't rescue him form the heartache Peyton caused, she actually told him to go and be with Peyton, and he didn't rescue her. She couldn't believe it was 5 years since that day.

"_Hey, mom, it's me, Brooke" Brooke started as soon as she heard her mothers "hi" on the phone. "Mom, there's something I need to tell you…" she continued_

"_Brooke, if you're gonna ask for money, I think we send you enough" Barbara, her mom, replied_

"_Mom, it's not that. I…I have cancer, and I wanna move out of Tree Hill and start off somewhere else" Brooke said all in one breath_

"_You what?" her mother replied, Brooke didn't even know if she was sad, or angry or disappointed_

"_I have cancer, mom" she repeated, but now her eyes were teary and she was broken. She finally said it out loud_

"_Listen, Brooke, me and daddy will find you the best experts in New York and you can go and live there" her mother replied and continued "and we'll come and visit you, and help as much as we can. There's no way we can come and live with you, we need the money your dad earns here, especially now when we're gonna need money for your treatmant" she finished_

"_Mom" Brooke was broken to hear her mother not even caring about her feelings_

"_OK, mom. Bye" she said a bit angry and hung up. She broke into tears, there was no way she could hold them back. She graduated from high school and wanted to get away from Tree Hill, and her parents only offered her money? She couldn't believe that was happening to her. Her parents even had less heart than she thought. But, she accepted their offer, and left to live in New York._

She shook her head, wanting the memories to stop. She felt so alone in New York. That is, until she met Mary. That woman took care of her, and helped her a lot, gave her the power to move on and fight for her life.

The morning came. Brooke woke up with a feeling of happiness. Her health was getting better, and someone was there to take care of her. Somehow, things began to feel right. And better.

"Morning, pretty girl" she heard Luke's voice as he opened the door of her bedroom

"Morning, you" she replied streching a bit in the bed

"I got you something" he said and walked in, carring her breakfast "Here" he said and placed it on the bed

It was decorated nicely, with a rose on the plate, a healthy breakfast, a glass of orange juice and coffee.

"Awww, thanks, Luke" she said and got a bit emotional

"No problem. I already had breakfast, so, I'm back to reading. If ya need anything just yell" he said and laughed

"Lucas Scott, you're reading?" she said a bit surprised, it was 9am, too early even for Luke

"Yea, some books I found on your shelves" he replied and half smiled "Beck to them, now" he said and got up from her bed to leave

"Hey, Luke…wanna go for a walk when I'm done with this?" she asked

"Sure" he replied and smiled "And, Brooke…if you ever wanna talk…you know I'm here"

She nodded "Same here" and he left her room. She took a look at the plate and started her breakfast. As soon as she was done with that and a quick shower she went to see what's Lucas doing, and to remind him he promised her a walk. She walked in and found him placed comfortably on the sofa, and reading a book. She stood there in a little shock when she realised the book he was reading was "How To Deal With Cancer?"

"Lucas…" she started. He looked up from the book and looked at her

"You ready for our walk?" he asked

"Yea, I am" she replied a bit distant. "But, look, you don't have to read those books. don't worry too much, Lucas" she said in a low voice

"I do worry, Brooke. You're my friend, and I wasn't here all this years and now I am. Stop putting that mask, the one that says you're not scared of this, cuz you are Brooke and you know it. You know it's hard for you, and just stop it, ok? I'm scared as hell, Brooke, scared that this thing will never end but, Brooke, there's no reason not to show it. You keep telling me I worry too much, but I disagree Brooke, cause I should worry. Maybe even more, but a part of me doesn't want to admit what's going on" he said in a low voice, trembling, thinking about how will this affect her. He needed to get it out, he hated the fact she put on this façade that says "I'm not scared" when he can see in her eyes how scared and sad is she. It's been a few seconds and they just stood there, both silent, covered in their thoughts. And the silence was ended when Brooke did what Lucas told her to. With her face covered in tears she couldn't stop, and tears she didn't want to stop.

"Is this what you wanted? I am scared Lucas. You have no clue how scared I am. But, I don't want people to see it, I do not want their fake symphaty, and I don't want them saying "poor Brooke". she finished. Tears were rolling down her face and to her shirt. Lucas came towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sorry, Brooke." was all he said before she digged her head in his chest and wrapping her arms around his neck. The pain grew bigger, on both sides.

"I wanted to get that out of my system for so long. I feel better now" she said while he was running his fingers through her hair

"Shhh…don't worry. Everything's gonna be great if we do our best for it to be."

And then his cell rang, he parted from Brooke who was now whiping her tears away with a tissue.

"Hey, Hales" he answered the phone

"Hey, Luke. What's up?" she replied

"Not much, we're getting ready to go out for a walk. And over there?" he asked

"Everything's great, too. Nate and James are having breakfast and I guess they'll go play basketball later" she replied "May I talk to Brooke, Luke? I haven't heard her voice in so many years" she asked

Lucas looked at Brooke, she looked better and he was sure Haley won't notice something's wrong.

"Sure" he replied and handed the phone to Brooke "It's Hales" he informed her

Brooke took the phone and smiled "Hey, Tigger" she said

"Heeey, Brooke. I can't believe I'm finally talking to you. What's been up, Brooke? It's been so long!" Haley said all in one breath which made Brooke smile. Haley didn't change at all

"Not much, Hales. Just living an ordinary life in a crazy town like New York. And what about you guys? How's everything over there?" she replied

"Pretty much normal. Nathan is…standing next to me and repeating gimme the phone, I wanna talk to Brooke all the time, I'm thinking of slapping him…" Haley said in her own manner and both girls started laughing, and Brooke could hear Nate was laughing too.

"Hales, you haven't changed at all" Brooke said

"Brooke…why didn't you reply my calls or e-mails?" Haley asked

"I just…wanted to get away, that's all"

"From what?"

"Everything"

"OK, Brooke, I'm not gonna make you talk about it. Listen, I gotta run, the classes start soon" she said while looking to her watch "And Nate wants to talk to you, so…talk to you soon, and here's Nate. Bye" Haley said and gave the phone to Nathan

"Hey, Brooke" Nate said

"Hey, Nate. How are you?" she asked, but it felt a bit weird, people were usually asking her that. Of course, people that knew about her condition, and Nate didn't

"Pretty good. And yourself?" he replied

"Good, I guess" she replied and looked at Lucas, who was afraid it might come to that question Brooke will find hard to answer

"I'm glad. You taking care of my brother?" he asked with a grin

"Yea, I am, but actually, he's taking more care of me than the other way around" she said and smiled

"It's nice to hear from you Brooke, but duty's calling, and I gotta run, but we'll talk later today, ok?" he asked

"OK, Nate. Kiss James for me and take care of Hales. Bye" she said and hung up.

As soon as she did, tears started forming in her eyes. She never thought it's gonna be this hard to hear their vocies again. Luke stood there, he didn't know what to do, he saw Brooke's about to cry, but he wasn't sure what to do.

"Brooke…" he started in a low voice, waiting for her reaction

"I never knew it'd be this hard" she replied and now tears were rolling down her face.

Lucas stood up and whiped them away with his thumb

"It's gonna be fine. Maybe you should tell them, and maybe we could move back to Tree Hill" he suggested

"And have your heart broken even more? I don't think so. We're staying here, and when the time is right, I'll tell Naley" she replied now feeling better. The tears stopped.

"Now…how about that walk?" he said and wrapped an arm around her. She smiled and nodded and they left the house

**It's not the most perfect chapter in the world, but it's something, alright. I don't have time to write long chapters. I would also love it if you'd all REVIEW. Be critical if ya want- those kinda reviews always help. Well, I hope to get many reviews. And, look out for the next chapter during the weekend, I have to UD my other story, Crawling Back To You, before ud-ing this one. Check that story out too. Hope everyone's having a good week!**


	4. I'm Gonna Rescue You, Like I Promised

**I'm so sorry it took me this long to UD. But with the finals and everything, I guess you guys can understand. I don't wanna ramble too much, and nobody reads the author's notes anyway, so here's the new chapter**

It was a warm April morning. New York was crowded, as always, but they didn't mind. They were lost in their own world, a world where everything was better than reality. They were stuck with the memories, so many beautiful memories of High School.

They were both laughing for a while now, which was weird since they were both coming from a dark place, but the presence of the other one, and the memories made it all easier.

"Oh, and do you remember when we organized the movie night to help Nate with the money to pay the hospital bills?" Luke asked.

"Yea, how could I not remember that night?" she replied

"High school was safe" he said with a nostalgic voice

"Yea, sometimes I miss everyone so much" she replied, her mind wondering back to some silly memories

"But you still don't wanna go back?" he tried to convince her it was the best way, so they could be closer to everyone, and everyone could help her, and give her the strength she needs

"Luke, we already went through this. Tree Hill has bad things- people that would feel sorry for me, and Peyton who broke your heart. I'm staying here and if you wanna go then go." she replied, she hated when he asked this, she wanted to see everyone but she was scared how would they react

"OK, fine, we'll stay here, and I'm not leaving you now" he replied and hugged her from the side. She felt good and protected in his arms.

"Maybe we should go back, it's almost the time for my chemotherapy."

"Let's go" he replied

An hour later they were already at the hospital, Brooke went to her chemotherapy and Lucas was sitting in the waiting room, thinking about how to help Brooke, and how to help himself forget Peyton. And then Brooke's doctor came out. Lucas jumped off his seat as soon as he saw him, he wanted to talk to him about Brooke and what he can do to help her.

"Doctor, may I talk to you for a second?" he asked as soon as he approached the doctor

"Sure. And you are…" the doctor replied

"Lucas, Brooke's friend. I…I just don't know how to help her and I wanted to ask you what to do and how to treat her, and also tell me how is she, is she getting better, is there a chance the cancer will go away?" Lucas finished his sentence in a soft, worried tone

"Well, first of all, being there for her is more than enough, you have no idea how much that means to people when they have cancer. If there's anything you can do, I'll let you know, ok?"

Lucas simply nodded, and the doctor continued

"Her condition…it's complicated and kinda hard to explain. She's been dealing with this for 5 years now, and what's weird is that things almost haven't changed at all. The cancer isn't very big, that's probably because she's taking her therapy seriously and she does everything I tell her too, but the cancer hasn't gone into remission yet. It will never be really gone, but if it goes in remission, she'll just need to check it from time to time, but it won't be anything serious and the possibility of it getting back would be rather small. In the last 2 days, I've noticed she's just more enthusiastic, she looks like she really wants to fight this. In the last 4 years, since she came to New York and I became her doctor, she was always there for her therapies, she would always do as I say but she never looked like she really wanted to fight and get better. And recently, she really seems happy because it's working. I think this will lead to an improvement, but we just need to give her some time, 2 therapies can't change it all. I strongly believe Brooke will win this fight" the doctor finally finished.

Luke was happy she was getting a bit better, and doctor gave him hope that things will be better.

"Any more questions?" the doctor asked

"No, not for now. Just…don't tell Brooke I asked you this stuff, she'll get mad and tell me I'm worrying too much"

The doctor smiled "OK, I won't. But you're a great friend, young man"

"Thank you"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to Brooke" the doctor said

Lucas nodded and the doctor left. Lucas took a seat in a chair at the waiting room, he knew that was the place where he will spend the next 2 hours. His phone rang. It was Haley

"Hey Hales" he said

"Hey, stranger, what's been up?" she asked

"Umm…not much. Over there?"

"Well, on Saturday is a big 5 year high school reunion and a big party at school, so I thought I'd let ya know and you can come and bring back our Prom Queen" Haley said and smiled

"I don't know, Hales. Peyton's gonna be there, and I'm not sure how much does Brooke wanna come, but I promise I'll talk to her ok. On Saturday, right? So that's in 3 days"

"Yea, in 3 days. Listen, I gotta go now, James is making a terrible mess in the backyard, and as soon as you talk to Brooke, call me, ok?"

"OK, Hales. Say hi to Nate and James for me. I love ya"

"Love you too, Luke. Bye" she said and hung up.

He flipped his phone and put it back to his pocket. He knew it won't be easy to convince Brooke to go back to Tree Hill

Brooke finally got out, and he helped her to the car

"How are you feeling, Brooke?" he asked, concerned about her

"Much better, and the doctor says I'm getting better too" she replied with a smile

"That's great, Brooke" he said and opened the door of the car for her to enter.

"Thank you" she said while placing herself in the seat

He smiled at her, and closed the door, went to the other side of the car and got in the car

"Wanna go home, or somewhere else?" he asked her

"Home, I'm too tired for anything else" she replied

"OK" he said and started the car

"Brooke, you never told me about Mary…how you met her and stuff" he asked, he knew Mary's the only person in Brooke's life since she moved, and he wanted to know more about her

Brooke smiled "Mary's been wonderful to me all these years. She lives next door, and when I moved here she came to bring me brownies and pie and things like that, because that's what she does for every new neighbor, like a sweet welcome or something like that. And we talked, but I didn't tell her about my cancer, she found out a few months later when I fainted in front of her, and then admitted what's going on with me"

"_I have cancer, __Mary" Brooke said in a low voice_

"_What?" Mary said, surprised and sad_

"_It's true, and that's why I fainted" Brooke continued, now with tears in her eyes_

_Mary hugged her "Why are you alone here then? Where are your friends, and parents?" Mary asked, thinking about how awful people must they be for leaving her like this_

"_My friends don't know, and my parents don't care" Brooke said, now crying like a little kid_

"_You poor girl, what kind of sick parents do you have? Don't worry because from today, I'm taking care of you" Mary finished_

"And that's how she became my guardian angel" Brooke finished

"Nice to know you had someone here for you, but I still think you should've told us all" Lucas said

"We're not going back to that." she replied

"OK, fine." he said and his phone rang. It was Peyton. Lucas rolled his eyes

"Who is it?" Brooke asked

"Peyton" he replied

"Give me the phone" Brooke commanded

"Are you sure? What will you say?" he asked

"Just give me the damn phone, Lucas Scott" she said, and he gave her the phone

"Hello?" Brooke said in her sweetest and sexiest voice

"Hello? Who's that?" Peyton asked confused

"Luke's girlfriend, and you are?" Brooke continued playing the game

"Brooke?" Peyton finally realized who's on the phone

"Yea, Brooke. What do you want Peyton?" she said full of rage now. She loved Peyton, but after what she did to Lucas, Brooke realized it's not the P. Sawyer she knows

"I just…want to talk to Lucas, but now when you're on the phone, he's not that important" she said and smiled

"The same way he wasn't important when Jake was in your bed?" Brooke continued irritating Peyton

"Brooke…I…I can explain" Peyton said in a pleading voice

"Explain what? That you cheated on you boyfriend of 5 years? There's not much to say there, Peyton. Be happy with Jake, but leave Lucas alone" Brooke said and hung up

She looked at Lucas who looked broken

"Are you ok?" she asked him

"Yea, I just…I still find it hard to believe what happened, and I can't believe I was so close to asking that woman to marry me" he said and smiled ironically

"Stop doing that to yourself, Lucas! Stop crying, and thinking of her, stop torturing yourself" Brooke almost yelled

"I know, you're right, but it's not easy when the person you love cheats on you!" he said, not realizing that's exactly what he did to Brooke

"Oh, really?" she said sarcastically "I didn't know that" she said a bit mad now

And that's when it hit him

"Brooke…I'm sorry" he started "I'm an idiot, and I'm so sorry for saying this, I…"

"You simply didn't think of it that way, you saw your heartache, but you don't realize how much you hurt me back than!" she said and almost cried

He stopped the car

"I do realize, ok? And I regret it every day, because you're a great person, Brooke, and I'm so sorry I caused you pain, and now I know what that is like. So, yes, I am sorry, Brooke." he said and almost cried himself. She hugged him and they stayed like that for a few seconds.

"It's ok. Sorry for flipping out. Let's just go home" she said and he started the car. They spent the rest of the ride in silence. They finally arrived home and both took a seat on the sofa in the living room

"Lucas…I need to talk to you" she started unsure of how good the idea is

"Sure, Brooke, what's up?" he asked a bit afraid of what might be goin on with her

"Lucas, I don't think that I can do this anymore"

"Do what?"

"Fight" she said in a low voice "Fight against the cancer, I just can't. It's killing me and all I can do is try to slow it down, and I don't think that's the way I want it. I'm thinking of leaving the therapy" she finished with tears forming her eyes, and a terrible feeling of loss ran through Luke's mind and heart

"Don't say that" he said and took her head in his hands "It's gonna be ok. The cancer will go into remission, I'm sure of that. You can't give up, Brooke. What about the people who love you, how will they feel if they lose you? What about me? I don't wanna lose you. So just…fight, Brooke" he tried to convince her, he felt her pain, but he needed her in his life, and so did all of her friends

"I don't know, Lucas, ok? All I know is that I'm sick of looking like this, and feeling like this and…" she couldn't keep it in anymore, and tears started rolling down her face

He whiped away the tears with his thumbs and pulled her into a hug

"It's gonna be ok" he kept whispering to her ear "You're gonna make it. **WE** are gonna make it" he said softly

"Thank you, Luke. I don't know what I'd do if there wasn't for you" she said and pulled out of the hug

"Brooke, I know we already talked about this, but I still think we should go back to Tree Hill" he brought up the moving again

"I don't know, Luke" she replied

"Brooke, you need all the support you can get, and everyone in Tree Hill wants to see you, and be there for you. And the 5-year reunion is taking place in a few days, Haley told me over the phone today. You should be there, you were the Prom Queen. And, don't tell me you're not dying to see Haley and Nate and James, and Bevin, Skills, my mom, Jake, and Peyton cause I know you are" he finished and looked deep into her eyes.

"I do, Lucas, but…" she couldn't finish, cause he cut her off

"No "but" you wanna go see them, and you wanna be there. So, we're going" he said and smiled. That was the smile she couldn't resist

"OK, fine we're going" she said and smiled back at him, making a strong eye contact. After a few seconds ov gazing at each other, she broke the contact

"I'm gonna go pack, since we're leaving tomorrow" she said and got up

"You need help?" he asked

"I'm fine. But if I do, I'll let you know" she said and winked at him

As soon as she left, he took his cell phone and called Haley

"We're coming back" he said as soon as Haley picked up the phone

**Hope you guys liked it. The new one will be up soon, as soon as I figure out where am I gonna take this story next. Please review, cuz it means a lot to me and it helps me keep the story going, cuz with not many reviews, I tend to think it sux, so I might stop writing it. So, if ya like it review, and if ya don't like it- let me know and I can make it better. Hope everyone's enjoying the summer!**


	5. Home Sweet Home

**Sorry it took me a while to UD, but the summer's being all crazy and I'm not spending too much time at home, so sorry again for the time that went by before this UD. Hope everyone's having a good summer, and make sure you leave a review after you're done reading this chapter, cuz every review means a lot. If you have any ideas on where should the story go next, feel free to send me a PM or place it in a review. Thanks a lot for all your reviews for the previous chapter. Now, onto the chapter V**

"Brooke, are you ready?" Lucas yelled from the hall, waiting for Brooke to finally appear. He already took all of their bags outside, and placed them in his car, but Brooke still didn't leave the bathroom she was in for a while.

"Brooke?" he kept calling her name, until he finally decided to go in and see what's going on. He was afraid something might be wrong with her, but as soon as he opened the door, he realized that everything is fine with her physical health, she was just being a girl, and she was still putting on her make up.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" she asked

"I've called your name like a dozen times, and I was kinda scared something happened to you, and it did- you became the Brooke Davis I know again.

She smiled at this and he smiled back.

"I'll wait for you outside" he mumbled pointing to the door before leaving her alone with her make- up.

Even though their original plan was to go the next day after they decided to leave, they had to stay 2 days longer, to finish some things about Brooke's therapy and consult her doctor about what should she do in Tree Hill. Her health was improving, and the cancer hadn't progressed and spread to other parts of her body yet, giving her still the chance of surviving, and having her cancer stay in remission.

_Lucas was pacing nervously around the hall, waiting for Brooke to finish her chemo. The doctor that was with her inside, got out and came to talk to Lucas._

"_You're Brooke's friend, right?" he asked_

"_Yes, I am. Is anything wrong with her?" Luke asked_

"_No, everything's really good. Since you appeared her health has improved a lot, she gained some weight, which is great, and her cancer isn't progressing, so maybe in the future it will go into remission. It all depends on her and her will to fight this." doctor said. Lucas was really happy to hear this, he couldn't stop smiling._

"_Thank you doctor, so much. Do you think doctor's in Tree Hill will be able to help her?" he asked_

"_Sure, there're some really great experts there, and if you need me to come and check her from time to time, I could fly to Tree Hill, but no often, maybe a few times a year." he replied_

"_Thank you. really doctor. You've done so much. And I'd like to ask you for a little favor…" Lucas stopped for a second, thinking about how smart this is, but he decided to go with it anyway "I would like you not to tell Brooke a thing. She needs to keep going on, thinking nothing has changed. That way she'll fight more. And if I ever feel like she should know, I'll tell her. I hope it's not too much to ask" he said, waiting for doctor's reaction_

"_OK. If you feel like that's the best way, I'll go with it, after all, you know her better than I do, and I'm gonna trust you on this one. I don't normally hide anything from my __patients, but I want to see her feel better." he replied_

_Two men shooke their hands_

"_Thank you doctor, you are really great." Lucas said_

"_Anything for the sake of my patients. Now excuse me, I need to get back to Brooke" doctor said. Lucas just nodded and the doctor left._

Lucas was sitting in the car for almost 15 minutes, which seemed like an eternity to him before Brooke finally appeared, looking almost as good as she did 5 years ago, when she was still healthy.

"Brooke…" Lucas started when she entered the car

"I know, I'm hot. Now let's go" she replied flashing him her famous dimpled smile and turned on the music.

"… _She said you don't know me_

_You don't even care_

_She said you don't know me_

_You don't wear my chains…"_

The song Boston by Augustana. They looked at each other, remembering their last dance as a couple.

_Brooke: I have some things going on…_

Now he knew what was going on back then, and he felt like a complete jackass. It's been a few seconds they've been staring at each other, and Brooke finally looked away.

"Let's go! I wanna get there while I'm still young." she replied and he laughed and started the car. Brooke looked through the window to her old house, remembering Mary and their goodbye.

"_Mary, don't cry, you're making me cry too" Brooke said and gave a long bear hug to Mary_

"_I'm gonna miss you, kid-o. Make sure you come visit me, and call me everyday." she said pulling out of the hug and whipping the tears away_

"_And you, young man" Mary turned to Lucas who was standing near by "Take good care of her." she said and pulled him into a hug._

"_I will, Mary don't worry. And thank you for taking care of her all these years." he said_

"_We gotta go now, pack and leave soon." Brooke said_

"_OK. Bye, kids. And take care" Mary said and hugged Brooke again, with many tears rolling down her cheeks, causing Brooke to cry too._

"_Bye, Mary. I'm gonna miss you." Brooke said and Mary left. Lucas hugged her and whiped away some tears_

"_You'll come visit. C'mon now, we gotta pack" he said and wraped his arm around her, and they walked in the house together._

Another tear rolled down Brooke's cheek, but she whipped it away before Lucas could notice it. Her mind wondered back to something else that happened yesterday.

_Lucas' cell phone wouldn't stop ringing and he was in t__he shower. She felt bad and a bit stupid to answer his call, but the noise was making her nervous. She came up to the table where the cell was, and looked at the screen. It was Peyton calling. Brooke hesitated for a second but then answered the phone_

"_What do you want, Peyton?" Brooke said in a cold voice, the one that made Peyton feel even worse than she already did_

"_I just want to…no, I need to talk to Lucas. My love for him as a lover is gone, but I'll always care about him, Brooke" Peyton said, and Brooke felt there were tears running down her face_

"_Peyt, you screwed up. And you lost Lucas, now let me find my happiness with him" Brooke decided to lie to Peyton, she didn't want Peyton to know Lucas was suffering._

"_What?!" Peyton was more than confused with what she just heard_

"_You heard me. We're back together, and that's how I plan it to be" she continued with her lie, thinking for how long can she do it, and should she even tell Lucas_

"_You two are together?" Peyton was even a bit mad_

"_Yup, and we're happy. You make sure you don't get in between_

"_Sure…yea…gotta go Brooke" was the last thing Brooke heard from Peyton before she hung up and their convo was done_

_Brooke flipped over Luke's cell phone and left it on the desk near the place where it was before, and she made sure the last call information was deleted, and she kept thinking about a way to finally tell Lucas the truth – that she lied to Peyton about their relationship, which didn't even exist._

They drove in the car for long time, talking about everything, and laughing and enjoying each other's presence. They were really close to Tree Hill, which gave Brooke chills, she hadn't been there for 5 years, ad it seemed like eternity/ Brooke didn't stop looking through the window, remembering Tree Hill, and noticing everything that changed in the town she once called her home. And she was also trying to find the words to finally tell Luke what happened yesterday, before they get to see anyone they know.

"Luke…I gotta tell you something" she finally started and turned around to look him in the eye.

"Sure, Brooke, what's going on?" he asked, a bit confused, switching his look from Brooke to the road, and back to Brooke.

"Ummm….yesterday, while you were in the shower" she started, a bit insecure "Your phone rang. It was Peyton" she said the first part of the happening, but she needed to see his reaction in order to continue. Surprisingly, his face was a bit cold, and uninterested, but she wasn't sure if he was faking it.

"And?" Lucas asked, sounding like he just wanted to hear the story, and that he didn't care at all

"Well, she wanted to talk to you, and I kinda, sorta" Brooke couldn't find the guts and the words to spill it. "Told her you and me were together" she mumbled

Lucas started laughing. "You did what?" he asked, still laughing

"Told her we were together" Brooke repeated, confused by his laughter

"Why, Brooke?" he asked

"Cuz I wanted her to leave you alone, and I didn't want her to know you're suffering, but now we have to deal with her…I don't know what we should do" she said and looked away from Lucas

He was concentrated on the road "It's ok, Brooke. We can either go with it and pretend or we can tell her it was a lie, or we can say I broke up with you" he said and laughed again

"You broke up with me? No way." she replied

"What? You wanna get a chance to break up with me?" he replied, joking to be mad

"I already did that, honey" she said and remembered the day when she broke her own heart

"OK…so, what shell we do?" he asked

"I don't know, it's your call." she replied, twirling her hair

"Well…we can go with it, for a while, and than say we realised we're better off as friends. You ok with that?" he said, and looked at her

"Sure, Luke, but…should we pretend in front of everyone or should it be a role just for Peyton?" Brooke, asked a bit confused, she didn't expect him to agree with this

"For everyone. It's much better, because if someone knows, it may slip in front of her, and that'd be stupid, so…for everyone in Tree Hill, we're back together." he said and nodded his head, trying to reassure both him and Brooke that was the right thing to do.

She placed her hand on his knee, and said "That's great boyfriend" and giggled

He smiled too "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Yea…well, most guys find it irresistible" she replied and laughed again, turning back to find her purse and take the lip gloss she loved.

"You still use the same strawberry lip gloss?" he asked her, surprised to see she has the same lip gloss she used to have 5 years ago

"A-ha, it's my favorite" she replied and placed some on her lips.

"We're home!" he exclaimed once they reached the house Haley and Nathan rented for them. It was their old apartment, the one where they used to live before they moved to the Scott mansion.

"Lucas, don't tell anyone I have cancer. Please" she said before he stopped the car

"OK, Brooke. Or shell I say..girlfriend" he said and rubbed her hand.

She smiled, and said "Oh, it's time for the role. C'mon, Broody" she said and got out of the car, walking towards Haley and Nathan that were waiting for them

"Tigger!" Haley exclaimed as soon as she saw Brooke, running to hug her. The girls hugged, and Nate watched with a huge smile on his face

"I've missed you, Tutor mom!" Brooke said, holding back the tears

"Missed you too, Brooke" Haley replied already crying

"Hey, let her go, I wanna hug her too." Nate said approaching them.

Brooke pulled out of the hug with Haley and went to hug Nathan

"Where have you been, Brooke?" Nathan asked while giving her a bear hug, and spinning her up in the air

"It's a long story, trust me" she replied, finding the easiest way not to tell them what was going on. She didn't wanna lie to them, so she just wanted to wait for a while, give herself a day to feel normal, and then tell her friends what's going on.

Lucas was taking the bags out

"Nate, could you give me a hand?" he asked looking at the bunch of bags Brooke had with her

"Sure, man" Nate replied and ran over to help Lucas

"How are you, Hales? How's James?" Brooke asked

"I'm good, even better now that I got to see you. James' fine, he just really missed a god mother" Haley replied honestly

"I'm so sorry, Hales. I promise I'll make it up to him. Now I'm here to stay" she said and gave Haley another hug.

Guys took the bags in, and they all went inside the house

"I've missed this place" Brooke said.

"It missed you too" Nathan replied and they all smiled, letting out a sigh while remembering all the times they spent here.

Lucas put down the bags and came over to Brooke. She knew what was gonna happen, she just prayed Nate and Haley won't realise it's not real.

"We're home, pretty girl" Lucas said and placed a small kiss on her lips.

Nathan and Haley couldn't help but stare at the two

"Wh…what's going on?" Haley managed to say

"We're back together" Lucas replied, and interlaced his fingers with Brooke's, leaning over to her ear and whispering "the lip gloss still tastes the same"

"What?" Nathan couldn't believe what's happening in front his very own eyes

"Yea…we realised we really missed each other, so one day I was cooking and he just came up and told me he loves me, and that I'm the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and that this time he's really sure about it" Brooke replied, and Lucas gave her a weird look.

"OK" Haley said still confused and shocked. "Well, we'll see you guys later, the nanny can't take care of James forever. We're expecting you tonight, at our place, we can all have dinner together. You ok with that?" she asked

"Sure" Lucas replied, still not letting go of Brooke's hand

"Than bye guys. It was nice seeing you again Brooke" Nathan said and gave her another hug before leaving

"And don't disappear again" Haley added while she was hugging Brooke

"I won't. I promise" she replied and they all laughed.

As soon as Haley and Nathan left Lucas let go of Brooke's hand and went to take the bags into the bedroom, and place all their stuff in the closet

"If they believed it, so will everyone else" Brooke said following him

"Yea, I think you're right about that. But, what the hell was that about me being the one saying you're the love of my life. Why couldn't it be you?" he said whining

"Well, first, I'm the one who was telling the story, second, you're the one that likes to give embarrassing speeches, so I thought we should keep it up" she replied and laughed in his face

"Very funny, Brooke" he said and placed the bags on the ground

"Now you'll see what's funny" he said and started tickling her

"Stop it!" she screamed until he finally decided to leave her alone

"OK. But that was funny too" he replied and they both laughed

"We should think of the whole story on how we got back together, and everything. I think I'll tell them tomorrow about the cancer, they're my friends and I don't wanna lie to them" Brooke informed Luke

"You mean, you don't wanna have one more lie for them?" he said applying to the fact they were already lying about their "relationship"

"Well, yea. And that lie isn't cuz of them, but Peyton" she replied and half smiled

"Yea…thank for that…I guess" he said and she hit him in the shoulder

"No I guess. You got me to be your girlfriend, what else could you possibly want?" she said and smiled

"Brooke…I already did that…twice" he said forming a number two with his fingers

"So? Are you gonna tell me you didn't like it?" she said and acted mad

"Of course I did" he said and they both laughed.

But inside, both of them found it a bit weird that they were capable of talking like this about their relationship.

**OK, so there you guys go with the new chapter. It's taking me a lot of time to write this, but that's cuz it's summer, and I have better things to do than be at home. I'll try my best to UD as soon as I can, but I can't promise a thing.**

**I hope you liked this chapter, cuz I really enjoyed writing it. Make sure you R&R, and if ya have any ideas, you let me know, ok?**

**Be on the look out for the next one, too, I'll try to get it during this week!**


	6. It's Show Time

**Again sorry for the long delay! You gotta understand – it's summer, and I'm having fun! Without too much talk, here ya go with the next chapter, and make sure u review when you're done, cuz it makes me happy :D**

"So, you came over to see me, and very soon realised I'm the one you love" Brooke spoke and Lucas looked at her and nodded

"Then, it took you a few days to finally tell me how you feel, and then we got back together cause I realised I still love you" she fnished and looked at Lucas who was laughing. She hit him on the shoulder playfully

"It's not funny, we have to have a story!" she almost yelled.

"Sorry, but it's kinda funny. We're acting like we're in Junior High!" he said and laughed again. Brooke sat on the bed next to him.

"Ok then you tell them the truth"

Lucas gave her a confused look, and realised that's even worse

"You know, Brooke, it's actually good to act like you're in Junior High from time to time" and now they both laughed

"OK, so if you know the story, then go out and let me get dressed, we don't wanna be late cause Nate and Hales will kill us. Oh, and officialy, we have to share this room for sleeping, and we can't get a new bed in, cause they'll become suspicious…" she didn't get to finish the sentence cause Lucas interupted her "It's cool, I'll sleep on the couch in the living room" he said and stood up to leave the room

"Lucas, I don't want you to sleep there, it's not really comfortable." she said and stopped for a few second "I tell you what: we can share this bed" she said and looked at him, she didn't know how good idea this was, but she couldn't let Lucas sleep in the living room, he's already done too much for her. And she knows how stubborn he is, and he'd never let her sleep in the living-room.

"Oh, so you've been missin me in your bed" he said and smiled, showing off a bit

"In your dreams, maybe. Seriously, Luke, we'll share this bed…I guess" she said and smiled. He smiled back and nodded "OK, Brooke, but if you get too horny because I'm so near you, please make sure that happenes before I fall asleep" he laughed.

"Ha ha, you're so funny." she said and laughed with him.

They both felt really comfortale around each other, and this little remarks never really bother either one of them. They were having fun and that was all that mattered.

Lucas took his jeans and a T shirt from the closet so he can get ready somewhere else while Brooke is getting ready in their room.

"You took a T-shirt?" she asked

"Yea, why?"

"Oh, well, since we're a couple, we should wear similar stuff, so I'll take put on some black top. We need to match, Lucas" she finished and almost pushed him outside of the room, which made them both laugh.

Before she managed to kick him out of the room, he managed to remind her about their meeting with her new doctor tomorrow.

"Please, don't forget about it, Brooke." he said

"I won't. And besides, you're coming with me" she said and finally pushed him out. They were childish around each other, and it felt good. Brooke felt better than she ever did in the last 5 years, and Lucas felt like he was finaly letting go of Peyton. They both managed to help the other one, without even trying hard.

Lucas got ready really quick, and he was again stuck in the living room, waiting for Brooke to finally get ready.

"Brooke, if you don't come out in 2 minutes, I swear I'm coming in and carrying you out, and I don't care what…" he didn't manage to finish his sentence because the door of the room opened and Brooke came out. Lucas couldn't take his eyes of her. She was wearing just simple jeans, heels and a perfect black and white top, with not too much make-up, but she looked really good.

"So, hot or even hottter?" she asked and smiled. He smiled back and replied "the hottest"

They left the appartment and got in the car. Soon after that, they were in front of the Scott's mantion, but they were still in the car, making sure they didn't forget anything about their story.

"OK, we're ready. I hope" he said and opened the door

"Lucas, wait." she said. She still didn't move from her seat

"Are you ok?" Lucas asked, he he got scared something might be wrong with her

"Yea, I'm fine, I just… I don't wanna tell them about the cancer yet." she finished

"Why?"

"Because it feels good to be normal, and have people that won't treat you like a five-year-old" she said and gave Lucas a look. He knew she was talking about him, he was really treating her like a kid, but just because he was scared for her

"OK, Brooke it's your call. But you better tell them soon, they deserve to know" Lucas said, got out of the car, and went to the other side to open the doors for her.

"Thanks, Luke" she said and got out. He took her by the hand

"It's show time" he said and laughed.

She smiled back "yea, it is"

They walked up to the front door, and Lucas rang the bell with his free hand, the other one was laced with Brooke's.

Haley opened the door and gave a bear hug to Brooke.

"I don't think I'll stop doing this for a while, it feels so good to have you here" Hales said and rubbed Brooke's back.

When she pulled off, she gave a small hug to Luke "nice to see ya, Luke" she said and they all came inside.

"Hey, you!" Brooke said and hugged Nathan, trying not to hit James who laced himself around Nate's leg.

"Nice to see you Brooke. What's been up?" Nate asked

"Not much, we unpacked and now I'm getting used to Tree Hill again"

"How does it feel to be back here?"

"Pretty good, I didn't see many people yet, but I plan to pay everyone a visit tomorrow" she replied

"Nate, I need you here!" Haley yelled from the kitchen

"I'm coming, babe" Nathan yelled back and smiled at Brooke before he went over to Haley, leaving James with Brooke.

"And, nice to see you, Jamie" she said and squatted next to James, who looked at Brooke, and didn't move.

"That's your aunt Brookie, James." Lucas said and squatted next to them both

James smiled as soon as Lucas appeared near them. He hugged Luke, and turned around to look at Brooke

"Is she your wife, uncle Lucas?" Jamie asked. Brooke and Lucas shared a look not knowing what to say. James is only a kid and of they say they're just friends he could tell it to Nate and Hales, and that doesn't really fit in their plan.

"No, but she will be" Lucas replied and smiled at Brooke and she smiled back

"But, she's also your godmother" Luke continued, and James looked at him with confusion

"You see…" Brooke started "A few years ago your mom and I were really close friends, but then I moved away, and that's why you never saw me. But, I promise that's gonna change, and now I'll be here everyday" Brooke said, almost crying, she felt so bad for neevr calling or coming to Tree Hill, she missed this kids growing up…

"Don't cry" James spoke in a soft voice and went over to Brooke to gove her a hug. Brooke hugged him back and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. Brooke quickly erased them

"You're the sweetest kid on Earth, Jamie" Brooke said as she pulled out of the hug

"I know, my mom always tells me that" Jamie replied and Brooke and Lucas smiled

Nathan walked in

"Come on, lets eat" he said and they all got up. Brooke smiled at Lucas, and he took away a few tears with his thumbs.

"You ok now?" he asked and interlaced his fingers with hers

"A-ha, I just never thought about how much I missed here, this kid grew up without me and I promised that won't happen." she replied

After the dinner they went over to living room

"Does anyone want some coffee?" Hales asked

"Yea, sure, I want some" Luke replied

"Brooke?" Haley asked her friend

"No, I'm fine, thanks" Brooke replied.

Lucas placed his hand on her knee, and gave her a peck kiss.

"Mommy, I'm sleepy" Jamie whinned

"C'mon, I'll put you to bed" Nathan said and was already ready to get up when Brooke spoke

"Nate, can I do it?" Brooke asked and smiled

"Sure, Brooke" Nathan replied and smiled back at Brooke "You ok with it, Jamie?" he asked his son

"Sure, dad" Jamie said and held his hands out waiting for a hug from Brooke.

Brooke got up and hugged little James. She took his hand and started walking towards his room when Lucas called her

"Brooke, can I come with you guys?" he asked

She nodded "Sure, babe" and smiled. Lucas smiled back. Nate was confused with everything, a while ago Lucas was so hurt and broken because of Peyton, and now he seemed so in love with Brooke.

Lucas got up and joined James and Brooke, holding James' free hand.

"Look at them" Haley said when she walked in with their coffees, and saw Brooke, Lucas and James laughing at something.

"Yea, they're gonna be awesome parents someday" Nathan said

"Yea, I'm sure they will. You know, I always knew they're gonna end up together" Haley said and sat in Nathan's lap.

"Really? I was sure him and Peyton will be together forever" Nate replied

"Nah, Brooke and Lucas have something special, they shine around each other" Haley added.

"Lucas and Brooke are fine. They seem happy, and I'm glad they are. As long as everyone's happy, I'll be happy too. But, right now, I just wanna kiss my wife" he said and smiled. Haley smiled back and gave him a little kiss.

Lucas and Brooke were in the room with James.

"So, uncle, will you tell me a story?" James asked when Brooke tucked him in his bed

Lucas smiled "sure, Jamie"

And Lucas started the story "Once upon a time in a land far, far away lived a beautiful princess. She had beautiful brunette hair, and dark green eyes. And she had the most beautiful dimple smile on Earth. All the princes from all around the world wanted to have her, but she fell in love with only one of them. Her name was Sophia, and his name was Chad. He was a handsome young man, with short dirty blond hair, and blue eyes. They fell in love instantly, and loved each other very much. And than one day Chad cheated on her with her best friend" Lucas said

"Chad's bad" Jamie said and Brooke just looked at Lucas, confused with his story

"Once he lost Sophia, he realised that her best friend's all that's left. But in the end, Sophia forgave him and they lived happilly ever after" Lucas finished and smiled to Brooke. She smiled back, but she wasn't sure what was going on.

"That's a good story, uncle Luke." James said

"I'm glad you think that. Now, sleep" Lucas said and got up to leave. Brooke kissed Jamie's forehead

"Sweet dreams, kid-o" she said and they went out of the room

"What was that all about?" Brooke asked

"Just a story for the kid, but my life was kind of the inspiration" he replied and smiled at her. They walked back in the living room to talk to Nate and Haley.

They were finally back at home, Lucas threw himself on the couch in the living room right away, and Brooke went to the kitchen to get some water

"You want some?" she asked Lucas

"Yea, sure" he replied and she appeared with 2 bottles of water.

"So, Luke…what're we gonna do about Peyton?" Brooke asked and handed him the water before taking a seat next to him

"Well, when we see her, we're gonna pretend to be a couple, and I really don't wanna talk to her." he said, and saddness was notable in his voice

"Do you wanna talk about her, Luke?" Brooke asked him in a sympathetic tone

"I don't know what's there to say. She broke my heart, and I know realise how fragile it actually is. She made me feel like a million bucks, and then burnt me completely. And now, I'm trying to pick up the pieces of my broken life, and cure my heart. That's all there's to it. I try to forget about her, and what she did to me, but I'm finally managing to let it go, or at least start that. And thank you for being there for me, Brooke, it means everything to me. You rescued me." he said

"Well, I did promise I will" she said remembering the time she said that. It was back at the time she first found out about the cancer. He smiled back and rubbed her knee

"But, you also saved me. You saved me from myself, you're helping me with my cancer more than anyone ever has, you're making me feel good about myself even when I don't feel like that, you cook for me, and most of all you give me the streinght and courage to move on with my life, and fight cancer" she said and smiled, but she couldn't stop the tears that were forming in her eyes, but Lucas quickly erased them

"Don't cry. You should be happy, and proud of yourself, you did so much for both me and you." he said and rubbed her shoulder before pulling her into a hug

"Thank you, Luke. I just feel too insecure and vulnarable right now. I'm glad you're here with me, cuz I don't know what I'd do if I was alone"

"You'll never be alone again, I'm here for you, always, ok?" he said and kept striking her hair.

"Ufff, we got too emotional didn't we?" Brooke said and pulled out of the hug. "We better go to bed, we have to wake up early tomorrow" she said.

He smiled and nodded "Sure, Brooke, let's go"

They both got up and went to the bedroom. Brooke changed in the bathroom, and went back to the room. She couldn't wait to fall asleep, this day was a bit too much of everything for her.

"Thanks again, Luke" she said while laying down.

"Always" he replied. As soon as she tucked herself in, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back "I'll always be here" he repeated again, and she just smiled.

And they both fell asleep, waking up in the same position next morning.

**There yo guys go! I hope you like it. Please review, it means a lot to me. Also, you're free to submit any ideas you may have. Now I'm gonna UD my other story, Crawling Back To You, and after that I'll UD this one, and I hope it'll be soon. Oh, and the story Luke was telling to James has nothing to do with Chad/Soph and their real life drama, I just needed names for the story, but I admit it makes it kinda sweeter to use CS :D**

**Anyways, off I go and u REVIEW! Till the next chapter... xoxo**


	7. Writers Apology

**First, I wanna apologize you all for not updating in months. Though, I have to admit it's partially because I got only a few reviews for each chapter, and I thought the story wasn't good enough. Right now, I just wanna promise you all a new chapter which will be up in a few days, and to ask everyone to leave a review when they read the story/chapter because that way I won't think this sux that much and I'll continue writing it.**

**Other than that, I wanna wish everyone a happy new year! Hope you all had a blast for the new year's eve and I hope all your wishes come true, guys.**

**Well, see you soon with a new chapter!**

**xoxo**


	8. Almost As Exciting As The Prom

**After a long, long wait [which I truly apologize for here's the new chapter of the story. I will try my best to update regularly, but don't abandon the story if sometimes it takes me a long time to update, because the next 6 months are going to be very busy for me. Anyways, without further eddo, here ya go.**

"Brooke, Brooke, wake up!" Lucas repeated a few times while gently shivering Brooke.

"Brooke!" he repeated a bit louder, and she let out a yawn, still not opening her eyes.

"What's the time" she asked, by the sound of her voice he knew she was pleading for a few more minutes of sleep.

"It's 8am, come on, you need to get up if we're going to be in time for the doctor's appointment" he replied. "I already made breakfast, so you go take a shower and I'll wait for you so we can have breakfast together"

She slowly opened her eyes, still whining about the lack of sleep. She got out of the bed, and Lucas laughed at her grouchy sleepy face.

"Get out, I need to change" she pushed him out of the door, but it didn't stop his laugh.

After 20minutes, she was showered, dressed and at the table, having pancakes for breakfast with Lucas.

"Sorry about the reaction earlier. You know what I'm like when I'm woken up." She apologised for her behavior, but Lucas just chuckled.

"I know, Brooke, and no need to apologize, it's cool" he replied with a smile.

"So, when are we going shopping for tonight?" she asked, a lot more cheery than she was moments ago

Lucas was confused for a second, but then remembered "Tonight, yes, the reunion… ermmm, how about right after doctors?" he asked, and she agreed, chuckling happily. If there was one thing that could make Brooke Davis happy it was shopping.

As soon as they were done with breakfast, they went to the doctors, and his words were similar to the words of her doctor in New York.

"Miss Davis is getting better recently, I saw her whole case and talked to the doctor who treated her in NYC. But, don't get carried away, she still has a lot of fighting to do" the doctor informed Lucas who asked him not to say anything to Brooke.

"Why, may I ask?" the doctor asked, a bit confused because he couldn't really understand why would they hide the good news from her

"Seems like she fights more when she doesn't know she's getting better. I'd like her to keep fighting" Lucas explained and the doctor agreed to keep it from Brooke, and tell her that her state is stabile, but with no changes.

"Thank you" Lucas shoke the doctors hand and smiled.

Half an hour later they were in the car.

"So, I have a treatment tomorrow afternoon, and a whole bunch of new pills. Well, it felt good for a day" she shrugged, while examining a few bottles of pills she got.

Lucas took one quick look at her.

"Don't worry, it's gonna be ok" he tried to comfort her.

"Well, yesterday felt like the old days. It felt as if I never left, and as if I'm not sick. But now, I'm back to being ill, and I have a story to tell to everyone, most importantly Haley and Nathan" she replied in a sad voice. Lucas stopped the car in front of a big mall, and they got out of the car, and into the mall.

"So, what did you plan to wear?" she asked him, a bit cheered up by shopping of course

"I don't know, any suit I guess." He replied

She rolled her eyes, and practically pushed him into one of the stores.

"You can't wear _any _suit for the reunion. Come on, I'll help you pick a good one" she said and they started looking around the shop.

"This one's perfect!" she exclaimed as she took one of the suits and turned it around to Lucas.

It was perfect for him indeed. It was a black tux, with red shirt and a black tie. Lucas tried it on, and it suited him perfectly. He wanted to rent it, but Brooke convinced him to buy it, and so he ended up buying it.

"Great, Broody, we got something for you, now my turn. So, should I wear black or red dress?" she asked him all serious, as if it was the most important thing in the world.

"You always looked good in red, Brooke" he replied

"Ugh, Lucas I always look good, in anything." She rolled her eyes, and he simply chuckled

"Yea, right. Sorry Brooke. Than, you look best in red. Better now?" he smiled, and she did as well, and he put his arm around here.

"Thanks for your help" he said and she nodded

"Anytime, Luke. What would you do without me?"

"I seriously have no idea." He replied, and they both laughed. She than stopped right there where she was, and stopped laughing, staring at only one thing she was able to see in that moment.

"Brooke?" Lucas asked her a bit confused with her attitude

"Perfect" she said in a low tone "Look at it, Lucas"

He finally managed to take his eyes off her, and follow her gaze to the perfect red dress that was in the window of one of the shops.

"It really is, but don't scare me like that again" he said and she just pulled him into that shop, and not too long after that they were already out, with another item bought.

"We're gonna be the best couple at the reunion" she said and they both chuckled.

"Of course we are, after all _I _am a part of the couple, it can't be less than perfect" he spoke, sounding more like her than himself. Brooke gave him a look, and with a kink in the eyebrow said "oh, really? Actually honey, you're the one that makes us less than perfect". They laughed, but their laughter was silenced when they ran into two people they didn't want to see. All four of them stood there, silent, not making a move or letting out a single word, any sound. And at almost the same moment, Lucas put his arm around Brooke, and Peyton let go of Jake's hand.

"Brooke…" Jake said, his voice barely over a whisper. Brooke came up to him and gave him a hug "It's good to see you, Jake. _Really. _But, I don't think this is the best moment for a long making up chat" she honestly said, the intensity in the air was too much, even for Brooke Davis, who used to love the drama.

"Yea, I'll see you tonight I hope. You look good, Brooke" he replied and smiled at her, sharing another short hug with her.

"You too, Jake. I hope I'll see Jenny soon" she replied and offered him a smile.

"Lucas…" it wasn't until than that Peyton had lift her head up from the ground, or said anything. Both Jake and Brooke looked from her to Lucas, who was still staring at the ground. Than he looked Peyton dead in the eye, his look full of hate and disappointment.

"Don't Peyton. Just don't" was all he said before he took Brooke's hand and they slowly walked away.

Peyton almost broke into tears, but she managed to keep herself together. Jake hugged her "He'll forgive us, someday. Just let him have his time" he said while stroking her hair.

Lucas and Brooke haven't spoke a word all the way to home. It wasn't until they were home, and she was taking her pills that he finally let out.

"It still hurts, you know?"

She drank some water, and than replied "I know, Luke, I know"

"But, you know, I don't think I love her anymore. Maybe I even stopped loving her when we were still together. But, it just hurts that after all these years we spent together she was capable to do something like this to me" his face convinced her he was telling the truth. She rubbed his shoulder

"You'll get through it. Someday, you'll forgive her, _believe me_" she told him, and he knew she was remembering the time when she forgave both him and Peyton for what they did to her.

"Maybe. I just need some time, because when I saw them there, I couldn't get the image of two of them in bed together out of my mind."

"It's gonna take time, you know, but you'll get over it. Just try, ok?" she spoke softly, and her words convinced him that she was right. He knew that in a month or so, he'll be able to speak to both of them. After all, it's not as if he was better than that to Brooke, and he knew in his heart that Peyton does love Jake. So, if it was out of love, and not just passion, he knew in his heart he'll forgive them both soon. Forgive and forget, just like Brooke did all those years ago.

The day went by quickly, most of it they spent getting ready for the reunion, trying their best to forget about the encounter from that morning. Brooke did her best to cheer Lucas up, and with all the jokes, funny memories they share she did manage to. They laughed for hours, until finally they were about to leave the house, both of them looking amazing.

"Brooke, don't forget your meds" he yelled from the hall so Brooke, who was in the bed room, could hear him. She took the meds in her hand, and was about to put them in her purse, but she knew the meds will make her sleepy, and tired, and she didn't want that on her reunion, so she just left them on the night table, and got out.

"You know, you should be proud of yourself" she told him as they were leaving the house. He gave her a puzzled look and she continued

"You _are _going to this reunion with the prom queen" she said and they both laughed.

They got there a little late, but when they finally arrived, Brooke realised how happy she is to be back. Haley gave her another long hug as soon as she came in, and so did Nathan. She caught a glimpse of Peyton but didn't even bother talking to her.

It's been a little while since they arrived, Lucas was talking to Nathan, and Haley went to get something they needed. They were at a table for 6, waiting for Rachel and Mouth to come and join them.

"Hey, there fat ass slut" she heard a familiar voice behind her, and she knew right away who it was

"Rachel!!!" she almost screamed while turning around to face her friend, and pull her into a long hug.

"It's soooo good to see you" Rachel spoke in Brooke's ear, so she could hear her because of the loud music. "I missed you all these years" she continued

"I missed you too, bitch" Brooke replied still not letting go of the hug. She got teary eyed but managed to stop the tears from falling before letting go of Rachel.

"Hey, guys" Rachel continued past Brooke to the Scott brothers, and exchanged hugs with them both.

"How's life, Rachel?" Nathan asked

"Good, in case you didn't know, I'm a lawyer, currently working in LA" she replied, proud of herself for getting as far as she did.

"And where's Mouth?" Brooke asked.

"Haley caught him to help her with something, I don't know. They'll be here soon" Rachel replied and took a seat next to Brooke.

"So, you guys together now?" Brooke asked Rachel  
"A-ha, for 2 years now. We both went to MIT, and after partying and sleeping around for 2 years, I realised it's only my way to hide from my own feelings, and that all that time, Mouth was the one I wanted. I really am in love Brooke, and it feels amazing" Rachel spoke with a smile on her face. There was a spark in her eyes, a spark Brooke never saw in Rachel's eyes – the spark of a woman in love. Brooke smiled, she was happy Rachel found her happiness.

"I'm so happy for you guys" Brooke said

"Slut, why didn't you keep in touch?" Rachel asked.

"I'll explain it all, but later, ok? We should enjoy this night, but I promise to tell you later." Brooke replied. Haley and Mouth than appeared, and Brooke almost jumped off her chair to hug Mouth.

"Hey, keep your hands away from _my _man" Rachel said and everyone laughed.

Brooke stuck her tongue out to Rachel, which caused everyone to laugh even harder.

"Don't worry, Rachel, I won't take him away from you. But you know I could if I wanted to" Brooke said and the laughter was unstoppable, and even Rachel was laughing along.

"Yea, right" was all she said.

Unknown to Brooke, even Haley and Rachel became friends, because the four of them spent a lot of time together in the last few years, even went to vacation together once, which was a big surprise for Brooke.

"Well, things change" was all Rachel said after Haley told Brooke the story

"Yea, they do" Brooke said, all nostalgic, remembering high school, and everything related to it.

They talked and danced for hours, talked about everything and anything really, about memories, about what happened after high school etc. Brooke and Lucas did a good job pretending to be a couple, sharing a few peck kisses, and rubbing each other's hand on the table, or calling each other "baby", "honey" etc. Rachel couldn't believe the two got back together, but she was happy for them.

"honestly, Brooke, I always knew you guys belong together" she whispered to Brooke, and Brooke smiled. At this point she was afraid to hear how they will all react once they find out it's all a lie, or that they "broke up"

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom" Brooke interrupted the laughter that was going around the table, and got up.

"Remember the time when we were at Rachel's cabin and none of us believed Pete was really gonna show up?" Haley remembered and they all laughed again.

"And he even made us breakfast" Lucas continued her thoughts.

Brooke was entering the bathroom, and there was the only person she was hoping to avoid as long as possible.

"Brooke…" Peyton spoke softly. Brooke turned around, ready to go, but Peyton grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Brooke wait!" she said louder. "Why don't you talk to me?" she asked.

"What? How dare you ask me that?" Brooke replied

"How dare I? It's not like a cheated on you, is it?" Peyton said

"You don't get it, do you Peyton?" Brooke replied as calm as possible

"Get what?" Peyton was confused.

"4 years ago, I let Lucas go. I broke up with him, I told him we aren't meant to be together, I told him to go and be with you. Why? Because I knew you loved him, so I gave him up. I knew you need him. I gave you the love of my life, for what, Peyton? So you would cheat on him, after 4 years of relationship with none other than his friend, Jake? You have no clue how much it hurts to be cheated on by two people you love!" Brooke's voice got louder and louder with every word I spoke.

"You still loved him when we were together?" Peyton asked, tears filling her eyes now, when she finally realised what Brooke went through.

"Yes, Peyton. I don't think I got over him until I left Tree Hill" Brooke replied in a softer tone, but than her voice got angry and loud again.

"I wanted you two to get your chance. I thought you guys belonged together, and gave him up…for what? So you can cheat on him?"

"Brooke, you have him back now! I don't know why are you so mad at me!" now Peyton's voice was raising as well, and Brooke simply let out a sigh

"Do you honestly believe that?" Brooke asked her

Peyton gave her a puzzled look.

"Do you really think I could date Lucas only days after you guys broke up? No, Peyton, I'm not like you. And I don't wanna be." She said

"What? So you lied to me?" Peyton almost yelled at her

"Yes, because I saw his heart break with every phone call, and I wanted you to stop calling him, and I wanted you to feel the pain, so you could see how much you hurt me all those years ago and how much you hurt him now" Brooke replied angrily

"I…I don't know what to say" Peyton said, more calm than before. Her head was a mess, and she was more confused than ever before

"Don't say anything." Brooke replied and walked out of the bathroom, and found her way back to their table.

"I told Peyton the truth, we just had an argue" she whispered into Lucas's ear

"What?" he replied

"I'll tell you everything once we get home, ok?" she replied again

"Brooke don't blame everything on me!" they heard Peyton's voice behind them. Everyone turned around to look at a curly haired blond that was standing right behind Brooke. Brooke got up and turned to face her

"What? Don't blame what on you? The fact you told me you were in love with my boyfriend, and that you kissed him during the school shooting? Or the fact that when I broke up with him you used every single possible moment to spend with him, and "comfort" him" she made the quotations with her hands "or the fact that you than cheated on him with one of his friends? You're not the only one who has problems, Peyton, you're not the only one who's been through shit, because we all did. You're just the only one of us to whine about it and cry all the time, the only one to blame it on everyone else, the only one to ask for pitty" Brooke's voice was loud, and half of their ex school mates was staring at them, and Brooke's voice got more angry with every word she let out.

"Brooke calm down" Lucas tried to make her relax, but failed.

"I can't calm down, I'm sick of her trying to blame everything on everyone else" Brooke replied.

"And what about _your _lie, huh? How about you lying to me about dating Lucas now?!?" Peyton pulled the only card she had left out

"What?" the whole table went blank, surprised with what Peyton just said.

"I already told you - I was protecting him! And his heart!" Brooke replied to Peyton while Luke turned to the other and said "We'll explain everything, I promise" and they all just nodded, they knew Brooke and Lucas wouldn't do that for no reason.

"And, Brooke, yes, you all have problems, but none of had to deal with a loss of one mother at the age of 10, and than the loss of the real one when you just got to meet her? She had cancer, Brooke, and died, how can you compare that to any of your problems?" Peyton was almost crying. At the mention of the word "cancer" Lucas turned around and was about to say anything and end this, but Brooke didn't give him a chance to.

She yelled back at Peyton "How can I compare? Peyton, I…" she wanted to tell her the truth finally. And not only to her, but to everyone. She wanted to let it out, and finally let them all know what did she go thought – all alone. She wanted to stop lying, she wanted her friends to know the truth about her and the truth about why she left Tree Hill. She wanted to…but she didn't have the time to. Before the words could escape her lips, before she could let them all know the truth, she fell down on the ground and collapsed.

"Brooke!" everyone let out almost at the same time. Lucas bent down next to her.

"Brooke do you hear me?" he asked. Everyone's attention was turned to Brooke, and even the music stop. Everyone gathered around the collapsed young woman, and a few of them even had words like "it could be anorexia, look how tiny she is" to say. None of her true friends paid any attention, all they wanted was to see what's up with Brooke.

Lucas and Rachel were the ones shaking her, and slapping her gently on the face, trying to make her react.

"Hales, call 911" Rachel exclaimed and Haley quickly grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911

"A friend of mine just collapsed for no reason, please send an emergency to Tree Hill High. Yes, the gym entrance, we're having a reunion there. For no reason, all of a sudden…" Haley tried to answer to the question regarding the reason why she collapsed.

"She has cancer!" Lucas finally let out, not really caring about who will hear or what will they say. Everyone went silent and looked at Lucas. He turned his face away from Brooke, and looked at his friends "she has cancer" he repeated more softly than the first time.

"She has cancer!" Haley told to the person on the phone "hurry up, please" she said before flipping her phone closed.

"Why…?" Nathan didn't even get to finish the question which Lucas already started replying to

"Because she wanted to feel normal for a while. This…she has it ever since high school. But, please, don't ask me anything, I found out when I went to see her. She'll tell you everything once she wakes up" he replied and they all nodded, agreeing it's for the best.

Lucas picked her up, and started caring her out, knowing the ambulance should arrive shortly. Rachel, Haley, Mouth and Nathan ran out after him, wanting to be there when the ambulance arrives. They waited for only 2 minutes, and the ambulance was there.

One of the doctors took Brooke from Lucas's arms, and asked for her illness history

"I'll come with you and tell you on the way" Lucas said and the doctor nodded, making room for Lucas to join them in the emergency vehicle.

"Who's coming with me?" Nathan yelled taking the keys of his car out and quickly walking towards it while asking. Mouth and Haley came right away, while Rachel said "wait, I'm coming too" and turned around to face a blond woman standing behind her.

"Don't you dare come there, Peyton. Brooke needs her friends there, not you" was all she said

"I didn't mean to…" Peyton spoke through tears but Rachel cut her off

"Hurt her? Yea, I know. You never mean to do that, Peyton, but somehow you always end up hurting her. I'm warning you, stay away from the hospital unless you want me to throw you out" she warned, more serious than she ever was.

"Hurry up Rachel!" Mouth yelled

Rachel turned around and ran to the car, entering it as fast as possible. When they were all in, Nathan started the car and drove to the hospital – full speed.

**There it is. It's not long, it's not perfect, but I hope you enjoyed it! I'll work on my other fic in the next few days, but I hope to be able to update this one in a week or so. Bear with me, please, and check the other fic if you want too. Of course, every review means a lot to me, even if it's a criticism, as long as you're not being rude. If you have any ideas – send them to me, and I'll consider them. Just please review it keeps going with this fic.**


	9. Don't Die

**Thanks a lot to those who reviewed this chapter. I would also like to ask everyone who adds this story to their favourite/alert list to please review too, because every review means a lot to me and it does inspire me to UD faster. Also, you are all free to give your own ideas and I will take them into consideration. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy…**

"Do you know anything?" Rachel asked Lucas as soon as they entered the waiting room and saw him pacing around it, looking more worried than ever.

"No, the doctors are with her right now…God, I shouldn't have let her fight with Peyton, I should've known-" Lucas started explaining, but Haley cut him off

"Don't, ok? Don't blame yourself, Luke. You couldn't have known this was gonna happen" Haley rubbed his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

"She's right, man" Nathan finally spoke up. "Nobody knew this was gonna happen. Now we just need to be here for her" he said and tied his arms around Lucas.

"Thank you, little brother" Lucas said, tears filling his eyes. They broke the hug, and Nate found his way to Hales and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Mouth was talking on the phone, explaining somebody what happened.

"No, we still don't know anything. Yea, sure, I'll let you know" he spoke to the person on the other end of line, and than flipped his phone closed. Rachel's and Luke's attention was focused on him. As soon as he hung up Rachel spoke up.

"Who was that? And don't tell me it was that bitch Peyton, because I swear I'll kick your ass for giving her any info on Brooke" she said in a blank tone, completely serious. Rachel never really had a strong opinion on Peyton, she hated her constant whinning, loved her music taste. Peyton was one of that people she could talk to and everything, but she never fully trusted her, mostly because of what Peyton did to Brooke.

"No, it wasn't Peyton. It was Jake" Mouth explained, knowing that even this will upset both Rachel and Lucas. Rachel smirked, and looked away for a second, while Luke's eyes filled with anger. Rachel took a glance at him, and than turned to Mouth

"Why would you tell him anything?" she simply asked

"Because he's Brooke's friend, and deserves to know" Mouth simply replied and than turned to Lucas "I'm sorry man, I know you're hurt but… Jake deserves to know" he said and took a deep breath, hoping his friend won't be mad at him. Lucas didn't even move. He just stood there and after a few seconds, simply nodded. "You're right" he simply said and Mouth smiled, nodding back.

"I just…I'm just scared we're gonna lose her, and she doesn't deserve this, any of it. She even got into that stupid fight with Peyton because of me" Lucas spoke. His voice was soft, but trembling. Racehl came up to him and gave him a hug, rubbing his back.

"Don't blame yourself, Luke. You didn't know this would happen. And we're not losing her, she's a fighter" Rachel tried to comfort him, and sound as if she was sure about it, hiding her own fear of losing Brooke. Luke held on tight to Rachel, closing his eyes and hoping tears won't start falling. His fear for Brooke's life was taking over him, and he couldn't deal with the idea of losing her. He couldn't deal with the guilt he felt, because he was the only one who knew she was sick, but he still let her fight with Peyton and even that was because of him. Rachel let go off the hug, and looked him in the eyes "It'll be ok" she repeated in a low, sympathetic voice. He nodded and half smiled, mouthing a "thank you" to Rachel.

"Lucas" he heard Nathan's voice from behind of him, and he turned around, waiting for Nate to continue.

"Maybe it's not the perfect timing and everything…but how was Brooke before tonight?" Nathan asked with a little hesitation in his voice. He wasn't sure if it was the right time to ask, but the worry for his friend and the desire to know as much as possible hoping it'll give him hope made him ask the question. He realised Luke's face fell a bit more, but he did give him the answer.

"She was getting better everyday. It's been a long time she's struggling with this, _alone" _he stressed out the word "alone", one more thing he felt guilty about, "and she recently wanted to give up and wait to die. It's really hard to be around her, you know? I felt bad for not knowing how to help her, because I couldn't mend what was wrong with her." His face got even more worried and sad, and everyone had a similar expression, listening carefully to what Lucas had to say. "But, I was really happy when doctors said she was getting better" his face lit up a little and a small smile played on his lips. It lasted for a few seconds and than they saw the doctor who examined her walking towards them down the hall. Haley and Nathan stood up, and everyone gathered around to wait those extra few moments until they find out how's Brooke doing.

"So?" Nathan spoke out when doctor finally appeared

"Well, she's alive, that's the first thing I want to say, because her condition got worse and…the next month is going to be very important for her. She has to take a good care of herself, and do nothing that can cause stress" doctor Brown explained.

"What if…" Rachel started but there was a lump in her throat and she barely managed to continue. "What if things go wrong during the next month?" she spoke

"She could die" Doctor Brown told them in a worried tone "But, Brooke's a fighter. She can get through this. What she needs is your love and support and NO stress"

Everyone nodded, scared of the word die, but also knowing that if it's up to them, Brooke's gonna get nothing but love and attention and all the support in the world.

"Doctor, can we see her?" Haley asked, hoping Brooke's awake

Doctor hesitated for a few second "OK" he finally said "She can't talk a lot, because she is still weak, and please don't go inside for too long. Also, not more than two people in the room at the same time, please" he said. The group nodded, and the doctor went his way, offering a sympathetic smile to these group of young people.

"Who'll go first?" Mouth finally spoke up, after he was quite for so long.

"You guys decide, I'm gonna go last and ask the doctor to spend the night…I feel the need to be with her" Lucas said to the group, and they could all see how worried he was and how responsible he felt.

"You guys go" Mouth told Haley and Nathan who nodded and started walking to Brooke's room.

"I'll go get some coffee" Mouth informed the remaining two. "Anyone want some?"

"Both of us" Rachel replied and took a seat in one of the chairs, gesturing Luke to join her. He sat next to her, tilting his head back till it hit the wall.

"Luke, please…stop worring that much. I understand you completely, but there's nothing you can gain with that. Just do what the doctor said, be there for her. In the state you are, she's gonna end up being there for you _like always_, instead of the other way around" Rachel said in all honesty, and Lucas gave her a puzzled look.

"Just… smile and try to act as normal around her as possible. Don't treat her like a 3 year old, and don't give her that worried look all the time. You know Brooke, she'll pretend she's ok just so she doesn't worry us, and if she sees sympathy in our eyes, she'll run away again. And we don't want that, do we?" she explained, and Lucas nodded. He sometimes wondered when did the redhead get so smart. He finally smiled throwing his arm around Rachel's shoulders.

"Thank you Rachel. You're…an amazing friend to Brooke. She's lucky to have you back in her life" he said honetly.

"She's lucky to have all of us, because she needs us more than anything. And I'm not leaving Tree Hill until she gets better. One of the things we need to take care of is keeping your bitchy ex away. She's caused too much pain to Brooke through out the years"

Lucas's expression changed a bit, his face fell down, and his eyes showed deep sorrow. Sorrow for the friendship that was destroyed, mostly because of him. He couldn't help but remember Brooke's words while the two were fighting a few hours ago.

"_The fact you told me you were in love with my boyfriend, and that you kissed him during the school shooting?"_

He knew he was the one to tell Brooke about the kiss, but he also remembers what she said back than.

"_Peyton told me something about the two of you" Brooke started, looking away from Lucas, thinking if it was the right thing to say, especially while dancing on Nathan's and Haley's wedding. It wasn't the right time or the right place, but she needed to know where was his heart at the time, she couldn't deal with another "going behind her back" thing._

And that's when he told her about the kiss, but she was surprised. Were Peyton's feelings the thing Brooke wanted to tell him? Was Brooke so upset because Peyton told her she was in love with him? He had so many questions that needed answers.

"As much as it hurts me to say this, you're right. I think Brooke needs to be kept away from Peyton." He said, and finally dared to ask one question to Rachel, a question he wanted Brooke to answer, but he didn't want to worry her. "And Rachel… do you know anything about Peyton confessing her feelings for me to Brooke back at the time the two of us were dating?"

Rachel didn't say anything for a few seconds. There was a lot she wanted to say, but she knew she didn't have the right to.

"Lucas, that's not a question to ask me. You should talk to Brooke" she simply said.

"But Rachel, I need answers and I need them now. And I can't ask Brooke, the doctor said we shouldn't upset her" he tried to get something, anything out of Rachel.

"And what difference does it make now, huh? Can you change anything that happened 5 years ago? You can't travel through time, you can't do anything about what already happened. Why do you want to know?" she asked him back

"Because… I want to know what's the real reason she broke up with me in the first place. There're a lot of things that seem clearer, yet more confusing now" he spoke, already thinking about the things he tried to figure out.

Meanwhile, Nathan and Haley were at Brooke's room.

"How are you doing, Tigger?" Haley spoke with a smile.

Brooke looked up at the two, and a small smiled played on her lips.

"Doing good, as good as I can for a hospital" she replied, chuckling

"What do the doctors say?" she asked on, wanting to know if she's even gonna live, and wanting to know if they already know about the cancer.

Haley got a little confused, but luckily Nathan was able to reply

"You'll be good Brooke. It wasn't that serious. But…" he wanted to ask her about the cancer, but he had his doubts about it. "I can't help but wonder…why did you lie to us? About ...you know" he couldn't even bring himself to say it out loud.

"Nathan" Haley sighted out.

"It's ok, Hales" Brooke said softly, her voice barely over a whisper. "I didn't want to bother you with my problems" she said and took a deep breath. "And there're a lot more reasons, but…I'm not really capable to talk about them now, I'm too tired. Tomorrow, ok?" she said and tried to smile.

"Of course, Brooke. Sorry for even asking" Nathan said, regretting the question already.

"It's ok. You all have the right to know. And I'll explain everything, I promise" she said.

"Brooke, there're other people who want to see you too, so we'll go now and Rachel and Mouth will join you soon." She smiled, kissing Brooke on the cheek and whispering the words "Hang in there, Tigger" to her before moving so Nate could say goodbye.

"Brooke, you're a fighter. And one thing I know is that you can beat anything. We're here for you, always" he said kissing her on the cheek. She smiled and nodded.

Haley and Nathan were walking to the door when Brooke called Nate's name, and both of them turned around.

"Hey, Nate…I know you want me" she said and winked at him causing a laughter from Nathan. Haley had a confused expression her face, especially after Nate replied with "in your dreams" and than practically pushed Haley out of the room.

"What was that?" she asked as soon as they were out.

"When I hit the wall with the car, back in the junior year, I had this dream about what would our lives be like if Dan chose Karen over my mom" he said, and she listened to him carefully. "And, unlike in this life, my mom was the one with the café, Karen was the one cheating Dan, and with Keith, you and me were best friends but my mom said we'll marry one day, and Lucas was the one dating Peyton. Although, Peyton wanted me, and Brooke was stripping in the guys locker room for me" he said and laughed, he almost forgot about this. "So, anyways, when I woke up the three of them were by my bedside, and when they were saying goodbye, I said "I know you both want me" jokingly of course, and she replied with "in your dreams" so I guess she remembered that" he explained, and Haley let out a sigh.

"And I was already getting worried." She said and laughed, giving a peck kiss the Nate. "Although, I can't help but notice how Keith and Karen were together in that….other world" Haley called Nate's dream "And, you and me obviously had something going on, otherwise your mom wouldn't mention anything…and Lucas and Peyton were arguing… even in the other dimension they wouldn't end up together" Haley rambled, though Nate nodded.

"You could be right" he simply said and smiled. They got to Rachel, Lucas and Mouth who got them all coffee.

"Yours is there, guys" he said pointing to two coffees waiting on a table.

"Thanks Mouth" Nate said and Haley and him helped themselves to their coffees.

"How is she?" Rachel asked and took a long sip of coffee.

"She's doing good, but she looks very tired. Just…don't spend too much time there, and don't make her talk much. Don't ask about the cancer, she already told us we'll talk about it once she gets better" Haley explained. Mouth and Rachel got up and started their way to Brooke's room, while Nathan and Haley took their seats.

"You know, I think she'll get through this" Nathan said

"Of course she will" Luke said, trying to sound as convincing as possible, trying to convince Haley, Nathan and even himself that his words were true.

"Anyways, guys, I'll try to find the doctor and talk to him about staying with Brooke, ok?" he informed the couple. Nate and Hales nodded, and Lucas stood up, walking towards the receptionist, the place where the doctor was talking with somebody on the phone. Lucas waited for a minute or two for the doctor to finish the conversation, and once he was done, Lucas approached him.

"Dr Brown, may I ask you something?" he started

"Of course" the doctor replied with a small smile

"I would like to spend the night with Brooke. I feel responsible for her and for what had happened, and I won't feel alright until I see her better. Please doctor, it would mean a lot to me" Lucas spoke in a pleading voice, the worry in his eyes obvious. Doctor thought about it for a few seconds

"I don't know" he replied, unsure about what decision would be the right one

"Please doctor" Lucas pleaded again

"OK" doctor gave in in the end, and Lucas thanked him for the decision he made.

"But, don't make her talk too much, and don't cause stress" he warned Lucas

"Don't worry doctor" Lucas assured him he won't make any mistake.

"Now, excuse me, I have some patients to check on." Doctor said and started walking away

"Oh, one more question" Lucas stopped him

Doctor turned around, ushering him with his eyes to continue

"How long will she have to stay in hospital?"

"Depends on her own recovery. 3 days, to maybe a week, or 10 days if things don't go very well" doctor replied. Lucas nodded, which was a sign for the doctor to go his way.

Rachel entered Brooke's room, and started in her own fashion with a "Slut, don't scare me like that again". Mouth chuckled, he found it incredible how normal can Rachel act. They both knew that's what Brooke needs more than anything. Brooke smiled too.

"Bitch, you were worried?" Brooke replied, trying to convince them she's still the same old, strong Brooke.

"Of course, buddy. You're my friend, Brooke." Rachel replied all serious, causing both Brooke and Mouth to get serious. "And I can't act like nothing's going on" she continued, locking her eyes wit Brooke's, trying to read what's on her mind.

"Rachel…I'm sorry for not telling you anything. But, we will talk tomorrow, when I feel better. Right now I don't have much power to speak" Brooke replied in a soft voice, barely over a whisper. Mouth and Rachel both nodded, half smiling to Brooke.

"Don't worry about it, Brooke. There will be time to talk about everything that's happened in the last 5 years. Just rest now, ok?" Mouth finally spoke.

"I will, Mouth, don't worry."

"Do you want us to get you something?" he asked, knowing how boring can people get when being hospitalized.

"Some magazines, or books…anything that can help with the boredom"

"Well, it's late to search for them now, but I'll bring you some over tomorrow, ok?"

Brooke just nodded, finding that easier than speaking. Someone knocked the door, and all three of them focused their attention to the door.

"Come in" Rachel spoke a bit louder. The door opened and Lucas entered the room.

"Hey, guys. Sorry for interrupting, I thought you were gone" he spoke

"You want her all for yourself, huh?" Rachel asked, half jokingly. A part of her hoped there's still hope for Brooke and Lucas, because she was sure love could help Brooke heal. Everyone chuckled.

"Of course I do" Luke replied. Mouth bent over Brooke's bed, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Have a good rest, and don't let this punk ruin your day" he said laughing.

"Thanks for being here" she replied "See you tomorrow, and don't forget the magazines" she added, reminding Mouth of what he promised to bring. Mouth moved over next to Lucas who was standing a few feet away from the bed, patting his on the shoulder.

"And if he does ruin your day, tell me and I'll kick his ass" Rachel added to mouth's previous words, which made the room laugh. She kissed Brooke on the cheek and moved to Luke "Don't make me kick your ass" she said in a threating voice, joking of course. They all chuckled and Mouth and Rachel left the room. Lucas came up to Brooke's bed, pulling a chair to it, and taking a seat right next to her.

"So, how're you holding up?" He asked, rubbing his hands over eachother

"I don't know. I feel too weak, but at the same time I'm happy to be alive" she replied honestly.

"I guess you know that everyone knows about the…cancer" he still found it hard to say it out loud, and his voice was really quiet when he mentioned the word "cancer"

"Yes, they all told me. I guess you had to tell them when I fainted?" she tried to guess the moment they all found out

"Yea…you're not mad, are you?"

"No, Luke. They'd find out sooner or later, and you practiclly had no choice. It's totally ok, really." She replied. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

"Thnk you for standing up for me against Peyton, I know I shouldn't have gotten you in that kind of situation and I'm sorry about it"

Brooke rolled her eyes at him. "Don't apologize. I did what I wanted and how I wanted. The whole dating thing was my idea, and you're not the one to blame. So don't blame yourself" she knew exacly that he spent the last few hours blaiming it all on himself. Lucas chuckled.

"You forgive too much and too easy" he tried to joke, but completely unaware of it, his words caused Brooke's face to fall, and she got all serious.

"That's because some people make too many mistakes, and always beg for forgivness later on." She replied, and he knew she was talking about Peyton…and himself.

**After a long wait, there it is. My mom didn't let me use the internet for a long time, cause the school started and I have so much going on with the college applicatioon and my graduation paper which should be round 20 pages long. It's a really busy time for me, so bear with me and please stay faithful to the fic. I hope to get more reviews this time, because many people are adding the story to their alert list but not reviewing it. Please review, it helps me a lot, and means the world to me!**

**Thx a lot for reading! Love ya all!!!**


	10. Past Comes Knocking

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you will enjoy it. Sorry it takes me time to UD, but I'm really, really busy. Anyways, as you know leave a review to let me know your opinion on the fic/chapter – evern if it's a hate review – any review that can help me make this fic better. Anyways, onto the chapter.**

He woke up feeling pain in his body. He had a very uncomfortable night, sleeping on a sofa in Brooke's hospital room. He slowly got up and streched a little. He took a seat next to Brooke's bed and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. He took her hand in his, knowing it won't wake her up. He remembered that back in the days they were dating there was no such thing that could wake her up –until he'd start tickling her. A smile played on his lips when a memory came to his mind.

"I will rescue you" he whispered and kissed her hand. 

"_And what difference does it make now, huh? Can you change anything that happened 5 years ago? You can't travel through time, you can't do anything about what already happened. Why do you want to know?" she asked him back_

"_Because… I want to know what's the real reason she broke up with me in the first place. There're a lot of things that seem clearer, yet more confusing now" he spoke, already thinking about the things he tried to figure out._

"_The real reason she broke up with you is because she was scared" Rachel simply replied. "But, still, why do you wanna know?"_

"_Because maybe if she didn't we would've known about the cancer earlier. We could've been there for her earlier" he replied._

"_Luke, you can't change what's in the past. Better focus on today." She told him_

"_I know, and you're right but… I can't help but wonder what if…" he said and faced the ground._

"_Lucas, do you still have feelings for her?" Rachel asked openly. She was probably the only person who would ask the thing she wants whenever and wherever – knowing fully this wasn't the time or place. Lucas chuckled simply._

"_Where did that come from?" he asked, still confused with the new situation._

"_You ran to her as soon as Peyton cheated on you, you worry so much about her, and you wanna know why she broke up with you 5 years ago…" she replied softly._

"_Because I don't like lies, I prefer knowing everything, as much as it can hurt!" he replied in a bit louder tone._

"_Listen, all I know is that you act like there's more than meets the eye. What do you feel for Brooke, Lucas?" she asked, looking him the eyes. He looked at her for a second, not even knowing what to say. Was he really not over Brooke? And then Mouth appeared with their coffee, saving Lucas from some deep thinking._

He was sitting there for a few minutes, when she finally woke up.

"Morning, Luke" she said, yawning

"Morning, pretty girl" he said with a smile and got up immediately. "Do you need anything?" he continued

"Not really." She said after thinking about it for a few seconds "Actually, you could bring me some water, if it's not too much to ask" she said and smiled. It wasn't her well-known full-dimpled Brooke Davis smile. It was a simple, small smile. A smile that showed more pain than any tears could.

"Sure thing, Brooke" he replied and got to the endtable where the bottle of water he got during the night when he wopke up was, and gave it to her.

"You need anything else?" he asked. As soon as she finished with drinking, she nodded.

"Yea, do you know when I'm going out?" 

"I have no idea, Brooke. It could be 3 to 10 days, depending on your recovery." He replied.

"Brooke..." he stopped for a second before continuing. "Why didn't you tell me about what Peyton told you before we broke up?" he asked her honestly. She was surprised with his question, and didn't know what to tell him, really. It's been so long that she didn't really have the time to think about it anymore. She shrugged simply, and took a deep breath.

"Because it would hurt. I knew you wouldn't leave me, and I would spend the rest of our relationship wondering if you're cheating on me, or what's she saying to you. I was scared of you breaking my heart all over again. And at the time, with the cancer and everything…. I don't think I could handle it" she replied softly, and he listened very carefully, not knowing what to say. Maybe she was right, maybe no matter what he would leave her for Peyton. But, maybe if he knew Peyton was in love with him back then he would've told her they can't be friends anymore and stay with Brooke, and fight for their relationship. He knew there's no way of them finding out the truth, so he thought it would be better to forget it all, but a part of him wasn't letting him let go.

"But, Brooke, you should've talked to me. I would never hurt you-" he tried to speak but she cut him off.

"That was the problem. I didn't want you to stay with me just because you didn't want to hurt me. I wanted you to be there because you love me. No other reason was optional. And I knew that was impossible. Not with Peyton's feelings involved." She replied and he shut up. There was nothing he could really say that could take back what happened all those years ago, and these words she spoke just show him how much she suffered because of him.

"_I love you Lucas. And I probably always will." And that was his glimpse of hope. Maybe she was there to fight for them. "But, we go days without having a meaningful conversation…" and that was the end of his hoping._

"I did miss you." He said all of a sudden, and she didn't really understand what was he reffering to. She gave him a puzzled look and he quickly continued.

"Back then, when you said it never seemed like I missed you… well, I did. More than you know" he replied and smiled. Brooke chuckled, unsure of what was any of that supposed to mean, but simply the fact he was smiling made her smile too. She didn't like seeing him all broody and suffering because of Peyton, so any kind of smile he would put on was a good thing.

Someone knocked the door, and not even a second later, Rachel came in.

"Hey, bitch. Lover boy" she said and all three of them laughed.

"Did you try to take advantage of her last night?" Rachel asked all serious, but Brooke and Lucas knew she was joking. It was her way of staying witty and not showing Brooke how scared she is.

"Nope, I didn't touch her I swear" Lucas replied, holding his hands in the air, as if he was surrendering to a police officer.

"I always knew you were way too nice" she replied and Brooke laughed again. Lucas put his arms down.

"That's why you wanted me in high school?" he said with a kink in his eyebrow and she came close to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No, I wanted you cause you were Brooke's." she replied in her sexy and seductive voice and pulled away quickly after. Her and Lucas laughed, hoping their little jokes were making Brooke feel better and not causing stress. They turned around to her, and she was there, laughing.

"What's funny?" Rachel asked her

"I'm just imaginating the fat-ass you doing the same to Lucas. He wouldn't like it." She replied and burst out laughing. Lucas joined in and Rachel gave a mad smirk.

"I'll get you for this, Brooke" she said, but ended up laughing at her own expense.

"Mouth's getting you some magazines, he should be here shortly"

"Yay, he remembered." Brooke replied with a smile.

**5 days later**

It's been another night Lucas spent on Brooke's hospital room sofa, waking up and feeling uncomfortable, and dealing with back pain. Another morning where he wakes up minutes before she does and goes to get her breakfast and water. And in the meantime, stops by the doctors to ask him how's Brooke's progress going. In the last five days, Lucas spent most of his time by Brooke's side, talking to her, making her laugh, and watching her giggle proudly when she'd steal fries from his breakfast thinking he didn't see that just because she told him to get her some water. It would always make him roll his eyes, especially the fact she steal kept a part of her teeneger persona alive, her childish, wild, crazy side. It amazed him also how she grew up enough to ask for help, because it was obvious she needed it, and didn't try to act as if she could do everything on her own. When Lucas had to leave the room, to go change, check the café and things like that, Rachel was usually the one keeping Brooke company. Everyone stopped by to check on her, and even Karen called her each day to see how's she been. Even Jamie stopped by to see how's his godmother doing and to show her his bunny named Chester. Brooke had a lot of fun playing with the kid, and the bunny, and promised Jamie that as soon as she's out she'll play with him and Chester. Today was no different – Lucas was already getting their meals at the cafeteria and bringing them to Brooke's room when he ran into her doctor.

"How's she doing, doc?" was the first thing he asked and doctor smiled.

"Unbelivably good. I think that all the support you guys have been giving her has helped her get through this. Keep it up, and she may be able to have her cancer gone into remission." The doctor replied with a smile on his face. Lucas smiled as well after hearing this.

"When will she be able to go home?" he asked straigh away.

"Maybe even tomorrow. I'll come and check her up in an hour or so, and then I'll know more to tell. But, be careful, even if I let you take her home, you're gonna have to take very good care of her. You're doing it now, too…just keep it up" the doctor said and tapped Lucas on the shoulder. Luke nodded, and they both went their separate ways. Lucas entered the room quielty but Brooke was already awake and streching.

"Finally, food" she said as soon as he came in.

"Well, good morning to you too." He said and chuckled.

"Sorry, Luke, I'm hungry" she said and already reached her hands out so she could grab her plate.

"I can see that" he replied and handed her the plate.

"Did you talk to the doctor?" she asked in between bites.

"Yes, he'll check on you later and then tell us more about everything." Lucas replied while eating his own meal too.

"Luke, I don't know if I had the time to say this, but I really wanna thank you for everything you did for me. This last few days would've been a hell for me if you weren't around. Thank you so much for being here, for helping me out, for sleeping on the uncomfortable sofa… for everything" she said and tears were forming in her eyes. She couldn't describe why really, but she just felt as if her life was falling back into one piece in a way, and she never thought it would happen. And even though she was very sick, these were the tears of joy – she was back home with the people she loved the most. 

"Hey, don't cry" Lucas said and quickly put away his breakfast plate. He took a seat on the end of Brooke's bed and held her in his arms.

"I'm just happy. I know it sounds crazy but being home is all I need to be happy" she spoke through the tears and Lucas caressed her back and hair gently.

"Everything's gonna be even better, pretty girl. You're home now, we're all here for you" he said and closed his eyes, tryng to block out the guilt he couldn't get rid of. 

"She could've spent all these years at home." Was the only thing that was going through his mind, and he wanted so bad to show her how much he cares, and to show her he's really gonna rescue her again.

And then someone knocked the door, but without waiting for a reply and permission to come in, the person opened the doors and entered. Brooke and Lucas broke off their hug.

"Peyton." Was all that came out of Brooke's mouth before Lucas turned around and they both faced the curly blond woman – Peyton Sawyer.

**Sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy. Hope you guys liked this chapter and as you already know – read and review. You guys really make my day with your reviews so keep the coming. I'll try my best to post a new chapter soon!**


	11. You Build Me Up Just To Watch Me Break

New chapter time

**New chapter time! I want to send a big fat thank you to everyone who reviewed the last one, I'm really glad you guys are enjoying the story. Hopefully, you'll like this one as well. I'll leave you with the story now! ENJOY!**

Peyton Sawyer didn't move from the doors of the room. The fact that Lucas was there made it different and more difficult for her, and she didn't know what to do now. Should she ask him to leave her and Brooke alone? Should she talk to them both? Or should she leave? Brooke was still in shock and she didn't know what to say. After a few seconds of complete silence, Lucas stood up from the bed and turned to Peyton. His eyes were red with anger but no word escaped his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" he finally spoke. His voice was sharp, yet quiet. Peyton looked from him to Brooke and it was obvious she felt really bad about everything.

"I needed to see Brooke." She spoke finally, and as if this one sentence was what was necessary to trigger the next one. "I needed to see her and see how she is, and talk to her" she spoke softly, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Brooke has to stay calm, and nobody is supposed to upset her. I don't think you can do anything that won't upset her, so I would like you to leave _right now_" Lucas still spoke in his sharp low voice, he knew that Peyton's presence wouldn't do any good to Brooke.

"Lucas, give us a minute" Brooke finally spoke up. Lucas gave her a weird look, not really sure if he should do as he was told.

"Brooke…" he spoke, but he saw in her eyes she won't change her opinion.

"I'll be outside if you need me" he continued and walked past Peyton as if she didn't even exist.

"Thank you, Brooke" Peyton said and came closer to her bed. There was a lot going through her mind, and she didn't know where to start, what to say.

"Don't make me regret it" Brooke replied, and by the tone of her voice Peyton knew this won't be an easy talk.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry" she said first. Brooke laughed sarcastically "For what?"

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch at the reunion, I'm sorry for not being there for you all these years, I'm sorry for telling you about my feelings for Luke while you were going through that awful phase in life, I'm sorry for not realizing what was wrong with you, I'm sorry for spending so much time with Lucas and taking you away both his and my time when you needed someone the most." She spoke softly and tears were forming in her eyes.

"That's one hell of a long list, Peyton" Brooke replied coldly.

"I know, Brooke, but I don't know how else to say how sorry I am" Peyton spoke again, and she was about to crack and burst into tears.

"Peyton, don't, ok? I don't need you to tell me how sorry you are. I was there for you, Peyton. Every time you needed me. I was there even when you were with Lucas, and I buried my feelings for him all those years ago so you could be happy. I was alone, sick, and heartbroken. You didn't know because you didn't care. You always only cared about yourself Peyton but I'm not the same fool anymore." Brooke spoke softly.

"What can I do to make it better?" Peyton was now crying, but even that didn't break Brooke, she wasn't giving in this time.

"Leave"

The word so short, and the request so simple, but it broke Peyton's heart.

"Brooke, don't say that. Not after all these years, we used to be _best friends_, Brooke, that can't go away that easily!"

"Easily?" Brooke smiled ironically "it wasn't easy Peyton, but after everything you did, and what's even worse after everything you didn't do, it's the only thing left. And _used to be _is the best word to describe our friendship" she finished and drank some water from the bottle that was next to her bed on the bed table.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from her?!" the door opened and a furious Rachel walked in.

"Rachel, you don't have the right to forbid me anything" Peyton replied.

"Peyton, don't make me throw you out. Leave now, before you cause Brooke even more pain" she spoke and stood by the door. She held them open and gestured Peyton to leave.

Peyton looked at Brooke, but Brooke didn't even move. She finally realized her presence there didn't mean anything to anyone.

"Brooke, I honestly and truly hope you'll get better soon." Peyton spoke in all honesty, and Brooke knew that. Brooke nodded her head and half smiled, and Peyton turned around. She shot an evil smirk to Rachel and left the room. Rachel closed the doors behind her and turned to Brooke.

"Did she say anything that would give me a reason to kick her ass?"

"No, Rachel, relax." Brooke replied, and Rachel took a seat on Brooke's bed.

"Brooke, if she dares to hurt you one more time, she will need a plastic surgeon, that I swear." Rachel spoke seriously

"Don't worry Rach, I don't think she'll dare to come back. Ever" Brooke replied and half smiled. Her friendship with Peyton meant so much to her before, but while she was away, she realized Peyton was never really a true best friend to her. And now, after everything she did to Lucas and everything she said to Brooke at the reunion, Brooke realized she doesn't even care about Peyton anymore. At least not as much as she used to. It wasn't easy letting go now, but that was the only thing Brooke could do because she needed to stop letting Peyton hurt her.

"Brooke, you ok?" Rachel asked one last time, she wanted to make sure Brooke really was ok. Brooke nodded.

"I'm fine, don't worry." She replied and smiled.

Lucas was sitting in the waiting room, tapping his leg and looking at the watch every 30 seconds. He was worried about Brooke regarding her conversation with Peyton, and he hoped Peyton wasn't there to cause trouble. He looked to the ground and wondered about his feelings for Peyton. When he saw her at the door of Brooke's hospital room, he didn't feel any pain. He didn't even hold a grudge against her for cheating on him. He only felt disappointment and anger for what she did to Brooke. He couldn't believe that was the same Peyton he fell in love with, the same Peyton he loved so deeply, the same Peyton he gave his everything to. Was he finally letting go?

"Luke" he heard her voice that pulled him from his thoughts and he raised his head.

"What do you want, Peyton?" he replied harshly

"I want to talk to you" she said softly once again.

"About what? There's nothing we can talk about" he said and stood up, ready to leave.

"Lucas, wait!" she said and grabbed his arm and spoon him around so he had to face her. When she realized he was standing there and waiting for her to go on with what she wanted to say, she took a deep breath.

"Lucas, I know I've hurt you, and I know what I did was wrong. I love Jake, but back then I didn't know how to tell you that. I swear the thing between me and him wasn't going on for a long time, and we were planning to tell you. I'm really sorry, Luke, I know I can't do anything to change it, but I really wanna fix it. I hope someday you'll find enough strength and love in your heart to forgive us both." She said in one breath. "In the meantime, take a good care of Brooke. She needs you, so be there for her, please. I can't be with her and I don't deserve to, but I think you can help her. I _know_ you can" she added, but Luke's eyes stayed the same. Angry.

"I will be next to Brooke, _every day_. I will help her get through this. Me, and Rachel, and Haley and Mouth and Nathan will be there. Because what she needs are her _true _friends so she can get through this. She's suffered enough. So, yes, I will help Brooke but not because you want me to. But because _I _want to see her get better." he spoke in the same angry, yet calm voice. Peyton looked sad for a second, and that was the moment she realized she needed to go. She walked past Lucas and almost ran out of the hospital.

Lucas didn't move. He shut his eyes for a second, blocking everything out. Peyton, the hospital, Brooke's condition, the past. He opened his eyes a few seconds later and smiled. It was the smile of relief. This was the first time that Peyton didn't come to mind when he tried to block everything out. He was now sure he managed to somehow get her out his heart, mind and soul. He rubbed his hair and started walking towards Brooke's room.

"Mamma, how's Brooke?" Jamie asked his mother while waiting for his breakfast. Haley looked at her son, and smiled. She was so proud he was this sweet, amazing and caring kid.

"She's doing better, sweetie" she replied while placing his bacon and eggs shaped in a smiley face.

"When can I see her?" he asked again while examining his meal.

"You can go today with me and daddy if you want" she replied and served the breakfast for her and Nathan.

"Of course I want!" he said before dedicating his full attention to his breakfast.

Nathan come down the stairs and joined his family, giving Haley a small kiss on the forehead.

"When are we going to see Brooke?" he asked

"After breakfast" Jamie replied instead of Haley and his parents laughed.

"OK, little man." Nate replied with a smile.

"I really hope doctor has good news for us" Haley said in a worried tone

"She'll get better" Nathan said while wrapping his arm around his wife.

"Daddy, will uncle Luke play ball with me now that his girlfriend is sick?" Jamie asked, he was still unaware of the fact that Brooke and Lucas were nothing more but friends.

Haley laughed and Nathan replied.

"Of course he will, just not as often as before, he needs to take care of Brooke now. We all need to" he added in a little lower tone, since that part was directed to Haley who simply nodded.

"Can I take care of aunt Brooke, too?" Jamie asked, and Haley and Nathan smiled. Their son had this amazing heart.

"Of course, Jimmy Jam." Nate said and rubbed the little boy's head. Haley smiled, she was happy she had this amazing family. Somehow, every happy thought ended whenever she would think of Brooke.

"Good morning, ladies" doctor Brown said while entering Brooke's room.

"Good morning, doctor" Brooke and Rachel said in unison.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked Brooke while going through her medical chart

"Good. Well, better, I guess. I don't feel dizzy or tired all day anymore, I managed to get up and walk around the room last night for a few minutes since I couldn't stand lying in the bed anymore." She replied. Her voice was even louder than in the last few days, one more reason for the doctor to believe she really was getting better.

"Well, Brooke, I see you really did get better, everything that got worse after you collapsed a few days ago is back to the way it was. Which means, I'm gonna let you go home tomorrow, I'll keep you in the hospital one more day for observation. Although, the chemotherapy, and everything else stays. There are other options and ideas I have I think we should discuss, but not now, in a few days maybe. I'll leave you girls alone now, and I'll be back later. Have a good day" doctor spoke fast but understandably and left the room only right after he was done. Brooke and Rachel both smiled, feeling relieved and happy.

"Finally, I can't wait to get out of here" Brooke spoke with a huge smile on her face.

"Yea, this is amazing. Everything's gonna get back on track, Brooke. Just believe it." Rachel spoke holding Brooke's hand.

"Will you and Mouth stay in Tree Hill now?"

"Of course we're staying. We're not leaving you, we wouldn't have left in the first time all those years ago if you just told us what was going on with you" Rachel said

"Thank you" Brooke said softly, feeling relief, happiness and bliss for finally being surrounded by friends, people that were, and still are, a big part of her life. Sometimes, one bad thing needs to happen so we can get the people we needed near.

**After the long await, here it is. Small and simple, yet with enough going on. New chapter coming up sooner than this one, that's for sure. The amazing-ness Markie gave us with the BL scenes in the last episode, it may be in the next few days that I will publish the next chapter. Oh, and don't forget to review, keeps me inspired **


	12. All Will Be Well

**Fuk. I am the worst person in the world when it comes to UDing my fics. I'm SO SO SO sorry for forgetting this fic for over a year. Wow, it's been a long time. Anyways, I will try my best to bring this one back to life, since many people seem to have enjoyed it. READ and REVIEW please, it means the world to me, it was one of the reasons why I stopped working on this one. Without any further addo, here's the next chapter!**

The next day couldn't come slower to Brooke since she was eager to leave the hospital as soon as possible. She barely managed to get some sleep since she was tossing and turning and waking up all the time hoping it's morning already and she can finally leave. Then a gentle caressing on her left arm woke her up. She open her eyes and saw the daylight and Luke's smiling face looking down on her.

'Morning.' He said simply and she smiled.

'Morning. Can I finally leave?' she asked while streching in the bed. Lucas laughed. 'Not yet, relax and wait a bit. The doc will be here soon and let you know if you can finally leave the hospital. How're you feeling?' he said and a took a seat next to her, putting the well known treats on her bed – water and breakfast.

'Awww, thanks Luke.' She said with a huge smile. 'I'm pretty sure I'll be doing much better when I leave the hospital so you can cook me and I can get rid of the hospital food.' She said while picking through her breakfast. She knew she had to eat, as much as she hated the food. Lucas laughed again. 'Stop being spoiled and eat that. And I promise, much better food awaits for you at home.'

'It's not like it can get any worse than this.' She said with a grossed out face while he continued laughing.

'Did you see Peyton yesterday?' she asked carefully, knowing the topic might hurt him.

'I did. Shortly. She looked for me when she left your room and wanted to apologize again or whatever. She even dared to tell me to take care of you _for her _cause she can't because she doesn't deserve to. You know, I think I now realized Peyton makes the victim of herself whenever it's conviniant for her. I was so blind for too long.' He says and looks down 'I think I finally see her for who she really is. And I don't really like it.'

'Don't say that, Luke. Don't be too hard on her. Peyton's not all that bad, she's not perfect that's for sure, but... c'mon, you dated her for five years, don't pretend like she doesn't have any good qualities. She's just a little lost that's all, and the poor girl has the right to be, with everything she went through.'

'It's not fair to take it out on everyone else. It's not like it's my fault life wasn't nice to her. Or yours, for that matter. She caused too much pain to the people she claims to love the most. What kind of person does that? Just a selfish one. But, you know, the good thing is...I felt no pain. I felt nothing. For the first time since we broke up I was completely indifferent to her, and it felt good. She has no power over me anymore.' He said and a smile played on his lips.

'That's good to hear, Luke.' Brooke answered with a smile on her face. For the first time in a while, it was the well-known Brooke Davis smile, the one that showed her dimples, the one that reminded him of the old Brooke, the bubbly and happy Brooke. Thinking back, he believes that the last time he saw her smile like this was back in the days when they were together.

'I'll go call the doctor.' He says as she stands up and leaves the room, thinking about what's next to come, and what's the next thing he needs to do to help Brooke get better. In the hallway he runs into Brooke's doctor and immediately asks about Brooke's condition. 'I think I'll let her out today, with the care you provide she'll be alright at home as long as she comes to chemotherapy regularly and never skips our regular checks and meetings. I'll go tell her the news right away, since I have yesterdays results, there's no need to put her through another test today.' The doctor explained Lucas.

'Can I tell her? Please.' Lucas almost begged the doctor who just smiled.

'Of course. I'll sign the discharge chart and she can sign her part when she's getting ready to leave. If you ask me she can leave right away, mr. Scott. Keep taking good care of her and tell her I'll see her the day after tomorrow at 10am.'

'Thank you so much, for everything.' Luke said and squeezed his hand and ran off to tell Brooke the good news.

Less than 2 hours later the two of them were back at home, chilling in the living room. Brooke was lying on the bed and watching TV with her head in Lucas's lap. He was caressing her hair and asking if she needs anything every 10 minutes.

'If you don't stop, I will need a new place to stay at, I can't handle you babysitting me anymore.' She protested in the end.

'Hey, the doctor said I should take care of you and that was his condition to let you leave the hospital so you better be thankful, Brooke.' He defended himself. They both let out a small laughter. 'You're right. Sorry, Luke. And thanks.' She answered and looked up at him, smiling. He smiled back and nodded. 'Much better. Wanna eat something?' he asked her as he was getting ready to get up, placing a pillow under her head.

'Do we have ice cream by any chance?' she asked with a childish face on, the one that could even convince Luke to go buy ice cream for her.

'Yeah, I got you cookie dough yesterday, I knew that was the first thing you'll ask for.' He replied as he walked towards the kitchen to get the ice cream and two spoons. 'My mom used to say nothing solves a problem better than chocolate.'

'Yeah, I know, she told me that once. Ever since then I would eat chocolate whenever I'm feeling down. Once, Peyton and Haley caught me eating whole chocolate cake with fingers.' She says and laughs and he joins the laughter as he walks back in carring the ice cream. As he hands her one spoon he casualy asks 'When was that?' and when reality hits her she looks down and answers in a low voice 'The day after you caught me in bed with Chris Keller.' They both stay silent for a few seconds, unsure of what to say next. They both wondered if they can talk about that time or should they change the subject fast.

'I did mean it when I forgave you about it. It's not like I didn't do anything worse than that to you.' He says in a voice thats barely over a whisper. She looks him in the eyes and nodds. She knows he's being sincere.

'Doesn't matter anymore, Luke, who did what and what was worse. It's in the past now.' She says and dips her spoon into the ice cream. He nodds and does the same.

In the evening Nathan, Mouth, Haley and Rachel drop by for dinner, to celebrate Brooke's release from the hospital.

'Luke, this was delicious.' Haley says as she finishes her dinner.

'I mus admit, lover boy, you really are good at this.' Rachel adds to the compliment. 'You really are the wife Brooke needs.' She adds, and everyone at the table laughs, even Lucas.

'You do realize we all need to love you a lot in order to put up with that?' he answers

'Of course you love me. Who wouldn't?' she replies and chuckles, and everyone laughs again.

'I missed this.' Mouth says simply and everyone nodds.

The happy moment is cut off by Brooke who makes a serious face. 'Guys, I know this may not be the perfect moment but I owe you all an explanation and I'd rather to it now, when you're all here than repeat it to everyone. It feels right to do it now. Luke already knows the story, but the rest of you deserve to know, too.' She looks down for a second, as if to collect the much needed strenght to speak up. Everyone turns to Brooke and their faces turn serious as they wait for her to proceed with what she wanted to say.

'It all started one day before the school shooting, that's when I first found out I had breast cancer. The doctor told me it's not too bad and that it can be treated and might go into remission but even up to this day it hasn't. I wanted to tell all of you... well, not you Rachel, I hated you back then.' The table laughs for a few seconds before she continues again 'But the school shooting happened, Luke and the rest of us too lost Keith and Jimmy and Peyton was shot and everything was too much of a mess for me to bother anyone with what was going on with me, so I thought I could wait. Then you guys decided to get married again and the timing was off once again, especially with Haley's pregnancy. And as time went by I thought about it more and more and realized I would ruin everyone's lives by saying it and in a way making you all take care of me. So I decided to move away as soon as we finish high school and take care of myself. I wanted to leave you all happy, off to your future and thinking I'm doing the exact same thing. It was easier for both me and all of you to think I'm an evil bitch who doesn't want anything to do with you than to tell you the truth. So I said goodbye, packed my bags and left. My parents paid for my house in New York, that's everything they actually did – kept paying for what I need. I met this lovely woman named mary who helped me out a lot and was a real support through all these years. And now I'm back here. I'm sorry for not telling you anything sooner, but I didn't wanna be anyone's burden.' As she finishes her explanation and her story tears form in her eyes and she can't hold them back so she starts crying. Rachel, who's sitting next to her, pulls her into a hug and holds her in her arms for a few seconds. Haley gets teary eyed as well, but Lucas shows her to cover it up and she does as she was told. She realized it would only harm Brooke to see anyone else sad over what happened.

'Shh, Brooke, it's all gonna be alright now. We're all here for you.' Rachel speaks as she caresses her hair. 'We won't leave your side. Ever.'

Brooke pulls out of the hug and wipes away the tears on her cheeks. 'Thank you, guys. I never realized how much I missed and needed you.'

'We're gonna be here until you get so sick of us that you'll wish you never said that.' Nate says to light up the mood and everyone laughs. 'Thank you.' Brooke says again and everyone just smiles, hoping better times are finally to come.

'Brooke, can you help me in the kitchen with the dessert?' Luke asks and they both pull their chairs back to stand up and go to the kitchen.

'Where's the dessert?' she asks.

'Never mind the dessert right now. Why didn't you tell everyone about Peyton's confession? After all, it was one of the reasons why you stayed quiet all those years ago.'

She looks down for a second and then looks him staight in the eyes 'Because it doesn't change anything. Rachel already knows, everyone else hates her enough with what she did to you and I didn't wanna cause more hatrid. It's better this way.'

'You have an enormous heart, Brooke Davis.' He says and wraps his arms around her.

'So do you, Lucas Scott. So do you.' She whispers. They stay like that for less than 5 seconds and than turn their attention to the dessert: he takes the ice creams out of the frige and she finds the bowls they can put them in. When they finish, they take them to the dining room to their friends so they can all enjoy the rest of the evening, laughing and talking about the high school days and the happy memories and hope for a much better tomorrow.

**Done! I know it's not too much and it's more of a filler chapter, but I had to 'start' with something again. Once again, I'm terribly sorry for fogetting about his fic. Hopefully, it will catch your attention all over again and I promise to update more regularly. Now, REVIEW and let me know if you liked/disliked the new chapter. All your ideas are more than welcome! Thank you!!**


End file.
